MÄR Zeta
by kojika
Summary: While the War Games had the focus of most of the world, trouble was brewing in isolated places, untouched by the outside. Now that the Games are over, the trouble has gotten worse and it's no longer just a problem for those involved...MAROmega OC
1. Prologue

MÄR ζ (Zeta)

Prologue: Tabibito no monogatari (The Traveler's Story Prologue)

by Sanzaki Kojika

Disclaimer: I do not in any way, shape, or form own MÄR (as much as I'd like to)…I am not Anzai Nobuyuki or Hoshino-sensei! I do however own Akazukin, Hisoka, and any other characters that are of my creation (well, no dah XD ). The time period this story falls into is the 6 year period after MAR ends and before the beginning of Omega (though I will have some Omega-related storyline bits in here. So, you have been warned…**MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS**!!

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Clandic was a small, rural village nestled in the deep mountains. It was so small in fact, it rarely had any visitors and wasn't on any map ever made for MÄRHeaven. They villagers liked this though; it gave them the false illusion of security. But, there were some things that not even small, unknown villages could escape. An epidemic of plague had swept through their village killing off many people and leaving many more without their loved ones.

The village and its people did their best to continue on. They still up kept their little farms, though many of them had to be given up due to lack of workers. Children started to help out at a young age, whether they be part of a family or orphans themselves. The adults did their best to make sure that these orphans and their children were well-cared for and would grow up to be satisfied adults. It was an arduous life, but it was the only life they had ever known.

All this while, the little village remained isolated from the outside world. The second War Games took place, and the chaos it caused stretched across the land, excluding only minor villages like Clandic. There was much devastation and destruction, and a few brave heroes stepped forward, even one from another world. Together, these heroes managed to topple the newfound power the Chess had gained and they fell to the darkness. The land was once more restored to its light.

With the leader's departure, and the disbandment of Chess, the world thought itself safe once more. However, the security didn't last long…it never does. People claiming to be remnants of the once omnipotent Chess ravaged through the countryside as bandits. Kaldea, land of the sorcerers and of great magic, had hastily decided to withdraw all the ÄRMs from MÄRHeaven in an effort to stop their power from being abused once more. The people cried out in fear and anger-what would they use to protect themselves now?

It wasn't too long after that the ÄRMs started to circulate though. Soon, even the most common person could have and use one. These were no normal weapons though…they were fakes, created by an evil mastermind who had been sitting and waiting for his revenge for more than one hundred years. A rogue Kaldean he was, corrupted by the power he had been given. After his first uprising in Kaldea with his fakes, the elder at the time, Babbo, had managed to seal him away, hoping that he and his demented power would never see the light of day again. To make sure of that, he himself was sealed inside a magical item that became an ÄRM in a class all its own. In that form, he had helped to destroy MÄRHeaven during the first War Games, and he helped to save it in the second.

But, no one within Clandic knew anything of it. The ÄRMs had yet to stretch to their distance, and few travelers ever ventured their way. With the fall of Chess though, travel became a little less difficult and soon travelers flocked all over the land, in search of new and rare ÄRMs they had never even heard of. Many people became ÄRM traders themselves. But, none of those people had ever reached Clandic. It was still as isolated as it ever was. And, they wanted nothing more then to keep it that way…

Nnnn

The Bailars had spent generations living in Clandic. No one knew for sure where their family history had started, but the only thing ever recorded by any members took place in Clandic. Their history there dated back more than two hundred years. It was an impressive feat, but even so, they weren't the oldest family to exist within the small, rural village.

The current generation of Bailars consisted of a mother, a father, and two children, a boy and a girl. During the epidemic though, the mother had sadly passed away, leaving her two children orphans. The father? He had been killed before the epidemic, charged with a heavy crime by a drunkard. The drunk, in his blind and wrongful rage, struck the father down with a sickle. The drunkard, too, was sentenced to death for the crime he had committed. But, the father had been innocent.

At the age of only twelve, young Tira Bailar became the head of her family; the only caretaker to her little brother Hisoka. She was a strong-willed and determined girl, and she accepted the responsibility easily and upheld it the best she could. She was well liked by the townspeople, even though she never had too much to do with them. She and her brother attended to what was left of the Bailar farm, trying to make ends meet and not starve when come winter.

Hisoka, now, he wasn't so levelheaded. Having only been seven at his mother death, he still had yet to really understand the whole force it had caused. He was a curious boy and was often causing trouble for his older sister. He liked to pull pranks and go exploring, almost leaving the village to do so several times. Of course, Tira would have nothing of it and sometimes punished him almost too harshly. But, Hisoka wouldn't listen any other way.

Despite all of this, the little brother and sister were very close. Having been left in the world all alone, they only had each other to rely on. Tira's stubborn streak didn't allow for her to rely on anyone else. She tried to take the entire burden on her own two shoulders. Hisoka was just as stubborn, though he was willing to ask for help when he needed it. Still, he had to fight his sister to take some of the responsibility away from her. But, they two loved each other and would stand tall behind one another until they could no longer do so.

They started every morning pretty much the same during the warmer months. Tira woke up at the crack of dawn to make breakfast then woke up Hisoka shortly after. Together, the two of them ate then went out to the fields to begin their daily work. They finished by lunchtime during which they went into the village to visit and trade with the other farmers. They spent their evening finishing up any work and then Tira would read to Hisoka. It had pretty much always been the same, and today started out no different.

"Hisoka! Get out of bed!" Tira stormed into her brother's room and yanked off his blankets. He groaned and rolled over, trying to hide his face from the light of the rising sun.

"Hisoka!" Tira gave him a hard shove. He rolled out of the bed and landed with a hard thud on the floor. He quickly sat up and rubbed the sleep from his eyes.

"Nee-san…" Hisoka frowned slightly as he stood up and brushed himself off. No matter how much they cleaned the dust from the corn they grow always seemed to build up and create a layer of grime across their floor, especially in rooms with windows.

"How many times do I have to tell you to get up before you'll actually get out of bed, mooou! Now, come on! Breakfast is getting cold!" Tira sighed and turned on her heels. She quickly stalked out of the room and went back to serving up their meals in their small kitchen. Their house only had three rooms…two bedrooms and a large room that included their kitchen and their dining room. It was nice and cozy and more than enough for just the two of them.

"You don't have to be so mean about it!" Hisoka whined as he came into the kitchen area. He took his seat at the table and leaned on it with his elbows, waiting for his sister to bring his food to him.

"Elbows off the table," she chastised him as brought his bowl before him. He sighed and did as she said; it was always like this in the morning. Hisoka had still yet to discover how it could possibly be comfortable eating without one's elbows on the table, but Tira seemed to manage to do it fine.

The two of them hurriedly ate their small breakfast in silence. Another rule of Tira's was no talking at the table while they were eating. It was another rule that Hisoka strongly detested, but since Tira was the older one, by a good five years, he could do nothing but obey her. He didn't mind all that much really, though he did wish he could understand her reasoning for making all the rules she did.

Hisoka cleared the table while Tira cleaned the dishes. They switched off on who did which chore, but it really didn't matter as long as it got done. It didn't take them long to clean up and they soon headed out into the morning sunlight. The sun had barely risen above the horizon in the sky.

"I hate getting up this early…" Hisoka yawned as he grabbed a basket and a shovel and went to work digging up some of the finished root vegetables. Tira sighed and grabbed her sickle. She lightly knocked him on the head before she went to do her work on the other side of the small field.

"We need to get this done. There's no other way," she reminded him. He pouted slightly but said nothing. He glanced over his shoulder to watch her walk away. Why did she always have to be right?

They worked through the morning as the sun rose up higher and higher in the sky. After several hours of working, they finally went to take their lunch break. First though, they went inside to clean up. Both of the siblings had blonde hair, though Tira's was much lighter than her brothers. After working though, they were both covered with layers of dust and dirt, making the two of them look almost identical.

Despite the five-year gap between their ages, they looked a lot alike. Tira had blonde hair that was cropped just below her shoulders. She usually wore it back in a ponytail, as it got in her way otherwise, though sometimes, when they went out to play, she would let it go loose. Being not even to her thirteenth year, she was still rather small and tiny. She was above five foot by a little and she was thin and lanky. Hisoka's hair was a dirty blonde that was long for a boy, but it still fell only below his face just a little. He was quite a bit shorter than his sister, but he shared the same thin and lanky look she hadn't quite grown out of. They had the same face shape and the same pale skin. It was their eyes that really helped them stand apart. Though the shapes of them were similar, the colors were entirely different. Hisoka had eyes of a grayish blue; Tira had one eye of a deep sapphire and the other of a radiant amethyst.

The two of them, finally presentable enough to be seen in public, hurried into the village. Today was the first day of the month, which meant it would be the best day for trading. The two of them carried their arms full of goods piled into little baskets. It didn't take them long to reach the central part of the village, where other farmers were already setting up stands with their goods. They moved to the place reserved for the Bailars and quickly set-up the little they had to offer.

In just fifteen minutes, the little marketplace was bustling. All of the villagers were out and around, needing to trade for different foods and supplies. Some of them, for extra money, would even make little trinkets. Tira often found herself in admiration of these things, but she herself did not have the money to spare to get one. Hisoka had several times told her to go and buy one, but she was too stubborn to. She didn't want them to starve for her petty desires.

"I'm going to wander first!" Tira announced after dealing with a couple customers. She was the one in charge of getting their supplies, so she was the one to go scour the market in search of them. She always let Hisoka go and look, too, and usually he did so first, but for some reason, today she felt compelled to be the one to search first.

"Hurry back!" Hisoka called after her. She quickly moved through the stalls, making her way to the ones she knew would have what they wanted. It didn't take her long to find them, and she filled her basket up with the necessary foods and other things they would need to get through the rest of this month.

Tira was heading back when she passed a small shop with trinkets in it. Usually, she would completely ignore them, but a small bracelet caught her attention. It was pure silver and an intricate pendant resembling a wolf hung from its chain. She felt herself mesmerized by it. It was as if she was being drawn towards it…

"Hello, little missie!" the man behind the stall called out to her. She blinked up at him, coming out of her trance. She took a step back. This was not a man that she knew…

"Hello…" she nodded her head slightly. She hesitated for a moment before turning on her heels to leave. His hand fell on her shoulder and he stopped her.

"Now, don't leave so soon! Please, come and take a gander!" the man grinned at her. He looked to be rather young, maybe not even fully into his twenties yet. There were odd paintings on his skin and lots of little scars. She had never seen him before, and she didn't know what to make of him.

"I'm a traveler, and I had never even heard of this place! But, I came here by accident…" the man explained, seeing the uncertainty in her eyes. She nodded slightly, not sure if she really believed his story.

"Right now, there's a great battle going on…well, actually, it's a period of ease between battles. There was a war, two years back. An evil man created a 'game' and used it to take control of the land. You guys are lucky; it doesn't have appeared to have hit you…" the man chuckled slightly, running his fingers over the trinkets he had set out on his stand.

"Ever see anything like this? Tell me, just what do you feel…?" the man held up the bracelet she had been examining earlier. She blinked at him.

"Feel..?" she took a moment to think. It wasn't that she really felt anything. There was just something strange about it, was all. "Um, I'm not sure…" she shrugged slightly.

"It feels like something's tingling, ne? That feeling, my dear, is magic! These trinkets aren't just anything! They are jewelry that is bestowed with magic," the man complained. Tira had to fight to keep back her laughter.

"Magic!? How odd! Certainly, nobody would be foolish enough to sell magic jewelry. What good would it do?" Tira couldn't help but smile. What a queer man this traveler was indeed!

"No, my dear…you don't understand. These 'trinkets' aren't just covered in magic. They are filled with magic and are able to take on special abilities. Like, this one here..." he motioned towards the bracelet, "it allows you to summon a guardian beast. These jewelry are actually weapons, made for keeping people safe."

Tira laughed out loud, "Those kinds of things are just fairytales! Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to get back to my brother…" she turned to leave. As she walked away, his voice trailed after her.

"Don't be so foolish as to discredit things that you cannot prove…"

Tira smiled to Hisoka when she got back to the stand. He was grinning like an idiot; obviously, they had been doing well on sales. She sat down and he hurried out from behind the stand.

"My turn!" Hisoka grinned as he raced off through the stalls. If he found something he wanted, he would have to come back and get his sister's okay to buy it. He didn't mind this though; he still had gotten a lot of fun things thanks to her.

Tira leaned against her hand and watched him leave. She was pondering over what that strange man had said. He had said that those rings and bracelets had contained magic. Could that actually be true? She had never heard of anything like that, but then again, she never heard much of the outside world. The feeling that bracelet had given off though had her wondering if he had been telling the truth.

What bothered her even more than that though was what the man had said about a war. Had a battle really gone on? She didn't like to think so. Even though she felt safe within the confines of their village, she wasn't foolish enough to believe it would remain that way forever or that they were invincible within these walls. Her father had been killed, her mother had been taken by disease; there were things that not even secluded places could escape. Everywhere you went, there were still humans. And, with humans, there were mistakes. But, also with humans, there was hope.

One of the people from the village came up and broke her from her daze. She went back to focusing herself to the task at hand. She had to make sure to make and get enough to let them survive for the rest of this month.

After a couple hours, Hisoka finally returned, just as the marketplace was closing up. Tira frowned at him, a little upset with having to close up the stall all on her own. Though there wasn't much to do, since they had sold most of what they had brought, she had to deal with taking the stall down and filling the baskets with what she had gotten today.

"What took you so long?" Tira asked as he got close enough. The grin across Hisoka's face simply got wider.

"I heard an awesome story, nee-san!" Hisoka exclaimed as he helped to put the final pieces of the stand back away. She blinked at him.

"Oh?" she already thought she knew what he had heard. There was no doubt in her mind that he had run into that strange man selling magical jewelry. Hisoka just couldn't keep himself away from that kind of thing.

"Yeah! It was about this great war and a hero from another world!" Hisoka grinned. Tira frowned. She hadn't heard the whole story, but it was starting to sound rather ridiculous.

"Anyways, I've gotta tell you it! So, this man named Phantom…" Hisoka begin. His story took the entire way home and most of their time finishing up their daily chores to tell. It was a strange story indeed, but after it was finished, Tira found herself very worried for the first time in her life.

As she tucked Hisoka into bed, he grinned up at her, "Ne, nee-san…one day, can we go on an adventure together? Let's go save the world!"

Tira gave him a small smile and moved to the door, "Yes. One day, we will leave this village and find true adventure…"

As Tira left the room and made her way to her little bedroom across the way she felt a tear slip down her face. Why was she suddenly feeling so miserable…!?

Nnn

Four years passed with not another word about the strange man and his even stranger stories, but he lived in the back of the Bailar siblings' minds, haunting them all the while. And, during the fourth year after, their whole world was turned upside down.

Hisoka wandered too far to the edge of the village and was captured. Tira tried to save him, but it suddenly seemed like he had become a different person. He had lost the luster in his eyes and all of his emotions were gone. It was as if he had been reduced to a stoic doll.

That day, as she watched him get torn away from her, the blood streaming down her face and the flames of the burning village rising behind her, she vowed to stop at nothing to get him back. And, with that vow, she took her first step into the real world. She entered into the land known as MÄRHeaven…

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Translation notes:

Nee-san: big sister; shows friendly relationship but still has respect

Mou: sheesh; literally: just a sound to express annoyance

Ne: right; literally: just a sound used to get attention or ask opinion

W00t! So, I had some people pestering me about this since they knew I had started this a looong time ago. So, I got a little bored today while working on Zos Kias (sorry my baby!), and ended up finishing up and fixing up the prologue for this XD (used to be first chapter…). So, I'm not stopping my Tsubasa fic..in fact, I'm going to try to finish that one first. But, I just felt like getting this out and into the open.

Why Zeta? I have no idea! But, if you have a MAR OC who would like to make an appearance in this…contact me so we can chat it out! The best bet is AIM (UkyoTheOkoElf), but you can get my e-mail off of my profile and send me a PM that way, too. But, I'll tell you this right now…I do NOT do OcXcharacter pairings. I do not believe in mixing OCs with characters (especially if it breaks a candid pairing, or one I like). So, sorry for those fans of Aka-chan…she will NOT be paired with Alviss in this, as much as you people keep doing XD (though they will meet!). Thanks for reading!


	2. AKT 1 Akazukin wo Umareta

MÄR ζ (Zeta)

AKT 1. 赤ズキンを生まれた

_Akazukin wo Umareta (Birth of Akazukin)_

by Sanzaki Kojika

Disclaimer: I do not in any way, shape, or form own MÄR (as much as I'd like to)…I am not Anzai Nobuyuki or Hoshino-sensei! I do however own Akazukin, Hisoka, and any other characters that are of my creation (well, no dah XD ). The time period this story falls into is the 6 year period after MAR ends and before the beginning of Omega (though I will have some Omega-related storyline bits in here. So, you have been warned…**MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS**!!

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Tira frowned slightly, looking down at the small village that the cliff surrounded. She had set out from Clandic only two days ago, and she still hadn't seen much besides cliffs and pine forests. This was her first time seeing another village, and she didn't like the look of it. Her village may have been small and poor, but it was by no means dilapidated. The village that was nestled in the grove of trees before her was full of cracking roofs and rotting wooden houses. Her village had never looked this…not until it had been attacked, not until it had been burned down. Now, it was nothing but a pile of charred remains and crushed stone.

She sighed, debating on whether or not she should enter the village. She needed to get help, to find out where she was going. She hated this feeling of loneliness that had thrust upon her. She hated the weakness that it has shown within her. She had to become stronger in order to save her brother, in order to save herself.

Though she didn't like the aura that the village gave off at all, she had little choice but to go to it anyways. She had taken no supplies with her when she left, and she needed to get herself something to eat and, even if it was just for a couple hours, a place to rest. This village was the first sign of any human life outside the devastated remains of her own home. She had to chance it before it was too late.

She slowly made her way down the winding path of the mountain, doing her best to dodge out of the way of the burs and thorny vines that entangled themselves around it. They clawed at her as she moved downward, leaving thin trails of scratches and blood across her exposed arms and legs. The tattered remains of her dress were barely enough to protect her from the thorns attacking her higher up.

She tripped when she was over half way down and rolled the rest of the way. She landed at the bottom amidst a collection of rocks and mud. She slowly forced herself into a sitting position and spit out the rubbish that had managed to get into her mouth. She was so exhausted and hungry that she was starting to get even weaker. She struggled to stand up and started forward again, ignoring the mud that was sticking to her bare feet and threatening to pull her down.

It didn't take her long to reach the little village. She could see only one line of smoke rising into the air, and she hurried towards it, hoping there would be someone there to help her. She tripped several times before she finally made it to the door. She leaned into it, pounding her hands heavily against it for several minutes. At last she stumbled back, and still the door stayed shut.

She fell to her knees, feeling the tears well up in her eyes. No, it couldn't be…! For a moment, she stared blankly at the nonmoving door. Then, she slowly rose up, feeling a renewed sense of desperation within her. She took a deep breath and with a surge of strength, she forced her shoulder into the door. It gave away easily beneath her. As it pushed open, she tumbled inside.

Tira fell to the ground with a hard thud, and the wind was knocked from her. It took her a couple seconds to regain her bearings, and she slowly sat up when she was able to. The house she had forced her way into consisted of just one small room, and a couple windows sprinkled between the front and back doors. There was a small stove in one corner of the room and a chimney climbing above it. The house itself was sparsely furnished. Besides the stove there was a rickety old table with a couple of wooden chairs spread about it.

Tira stood up and moved over to the stove. Despite the fact that she could find no one at home, the stove was lit and a small put of soup was cooking on it. The smell was appetizing, but she knew better than to trust anything that was left unattended. He did her best to ignore it as she tried to figure out how she could get out of the mess she had found herself in.

"Hello?" Tira called out as loud as she could. Her voice was hoarse and she squeaked slightly as she spoke. Still, she got no answer. The house was completely devoid of life. She frowned slightly. Then, just why was the stove still being used…?

She moved towards the back of the house, noticing for the first time that there were bags of supplies leaned up against the wall. No doubt, there had been some travelers through recently. By the looks of it, they were still here. She hoped they would return soon. She was anxious to get help and gather some of her own supplies.

There was no window facing out the back of the house, so she was forced to go right to the door. She slowly turned the knob and it gave without any struggle. She pushed the door open and found herself staring at a group of weathered men starting right back at her.

An awkward silence fell over them and suddenly, Tira wanted nothing more than to run away from them. But, she needed help, and despite her better judgment, she was too desperate to flee. Instead, she hesitantly took a couple steps forward and onto the grass. It felt cool and refreshing against the bloody and mud-caked skin of the bottom of her feet.

"Please…I need your help…" Tira's voice was quivering when she finally found it. She stopped a good distance away from them, still not ready to trust them fully. She took a deep breath and continued talking, "My village was destroyed…I want to find someplace safe."

One of the men gave her an odd smile and held out his hand, "Aw, ojou-chan…c'mere! Lemme help ya!" He motioned with his arms when she didn't try to take a step forward. Slowly, she moved forward. She stopped when she was still several feet away.

"Come a lil closer…" the man motioned again. Tira, too tired to care anymore, took the final steps that closed the gap between them. He grinned at her and patted her on the head.

"Good girl. Now tell me, how old are you…? What happened to your family?" the man questioned her. Normally, she would have been leery about answering such odd questions, but she did so now without a second thought.

"I'm sixteen. My mother and father have been dead for a while, but my little brother is still alive. He was taken from me by an evil group of men! It's as if…he wasn't himself anymore…" she could feel the tears biting at her eyes. She tried to hold them back, but she was too tired to do much of anything, even such a trivial thing like that.

"It's alright now! Please, come on in and let's get you feed and cleaned up. You need to rest!" another man spoke up. He quickly moved to Tira's side and pushed the young girl back into the house. The man fed her from the soup on the stove then lent her a shirt to wear and gave her some water to clean up. Tira was asleep within less than half an hour of her meeting the men.

The man walked out of the house and gently closed the door behind him. Then, he made his way back to the rest of the group and sat down on the stump he had been sitting down on originally. Out of all of the men, he was the only one with even somewhat handsome and gentle looks. That's what made his job so easy for him though. An evil grin spread across his face.

"So, ya think she'll be any good?" the first man was the one to break the silence. The other man just chuckled slightly.

"Ha! Jet, I think she'll work great! She's still rather young, but her body has matured nice enough. Plus, she's pretty cute. I'd say we could make a good amount off of her," the second man burst out with laughter. The rest of the men cackled at his response.

"Good, good!" the first man, Jet, grinned. He rubbed his hands together and licked his lips slightly. They had been in need of money and lady fortune had smiled upon them again.

The men went on to talking about how they were going to spend the money they would make off of the little girl they had just found…

Nnnnn

Tira abruptly came awake. She found herself blinking into the darkness, and it took her a moment to remember just where she was. She was bundled in a pile of blankets pushed up against one of the empty walls in the room. She had been so tired that despite the hard floor beneath her, she had sleep soundlessly.

Yet, now, something had brought her awake. She wasn't quite sure what it was. She was still drowsy and darkness still encompassed the house. She rubbed the sleep from her eyes and peered out into the darkness. Still, she saw nothing.

She was about to curl up and go back to sleep when a rough hand grabbed her and forced a gag over her mouth. She struggled against it, but with her fatigue in addition to her already small and weak body, she was unable to fight it.

"Be a good girl…!" Jet grinned into her ear. She stared back at him, fear filling her big eyes. He dragged her out of the house and onto the road before it. The other men were waiting, including the man who had been so kind to her. She had never been so scared in her life.

"Before we sell her…I'd like to take a good look at our goods, to see how much we can make," Jet grinned. Some of the other guys hollered in agreement. Tira squirmed in his arms, but she was still unable to break free. Then, suddenly, he dropped her and she tumbled to the ground. For a moment she just laid there, trying to catch her breath.

"Let's see whatcha got, ojou-chan!" Jet chuckled as he leaned down and ripped at Tira's clothing. She screamed and tried to pull away. The other men rushed forward and helped to hold her down. She cried against the gag, trying to scream through it. She thrashed about, trying to knock her attackers away. But, she was too weak. All of her struggles were futile.

The calloused and scarred fingers reached for her, touching her all over, probing over her skin. Tears streamed down her face and she blinked against them, trying to focus on anything ahead of her that could help. All she could see were the dark shapes of the men upon her though.

Just then, a glint of silver caught her eye. There was something shimmering as it swung back and forth on Jet's belt with the movement of his body. It didn't seem like much to her, but there was a strong aura radiating off of it. She found herself thinking back to the man in the village.

_"It feels like something's tingling, ne? That feeling, my dear, is magic! These trinkets aren't just anything! They are jewelry that is bestowed with magic," the man explained._

His words came floating back to her. She remembered the items at his little table, but she could not remember anything of him except for his voice. Right now though, that was all she needed.

Jewelry that was filled with magic. She had doubted its existence when she had first heard of it, but she suddenly found herself struggling to believe it was true. She could feel that same tingling sensation from the bracelet as she had in the past. The only difference was that this tingling was stronger than the last had been.

Tira struggled to get her hand free and she finally managed. She quickly reached out and snatched the bracelet from Jet's belt. He was too preoccupied to notice, and she retracted her hand, bringing the bracelet back towards her. She wasn't quite sure how to use it, assuming it was one of these magical jewelry, but she was too desperate to care.

'Work!' she prayed silently as she clutched the bracelet to her chest. She closed her eyes, but still nothing happened. The bracelet remained the cold silver it was in her hands. She could feel herself starting to cry even more.

'Please work!!!' she cried silently into the night. Suddenly, the bracelet came to life in her hands. There was a bright glow of light and suddenly the bracelet was gone. She closed her eyes against the light, groping for the security the bracelet had for her. She heard several screams and she was free.

Tira quickly scrambled to her feet and took off running, not bothering to look at the men who had now moved to stand behind her. She clutched the shirt close and she raced forward and away from the cabin. The terrified screams of the men continued to rise up in the night behind her.

She continued to race forward, trying to block out their screams. She wasn't sure what was happening, but she didn't want to know. She ran as hard as she could and for as far as her feet would carry her, but she was still weak and winded, and she fell when the little cabin was still in site. She lay on her stomach, panting and trying to wipe the tears away. She forced herself to roll over and look at the carnage behind her.

Most of the men seemed to be rather unharmed, but she could see a large lump, that she assumed was Jet, covered in blood and nearly sliced into pieces. Some of the other men, unfortunate to be close enough to Jet, were also splattered in blood, a mix of their own and Jet's. The only one who was dead though was Jet.

Tira quickly averted her gaze, an overwhelming sickness about to burst out from inside of her. She felt nauseous, but she forced herself to climb back on her feet and continue forward. No matter how hard she tried though, she couldn't erase the image of Jet's torn body from her mind. What had done that…!?

A gentle breeze pushed past her, and suddenly she could feel a loose weight against her wrist. She glanced down to see the bracelet she had found earlier now resting there. She stopped in her tracks and slowly brought the bracelet to eye level. Her hands were shaking.

Could this thing have done…that!? She didn't want to believe it, but she couldn't find any other explanation. If this bracelet, this magical piece of metal, had indeed been what had caused all of that, then she was the one responsible. She felt her stomach turn.

She ran over to a bush and knelt down beside it, throwing up the little she had eaten in the care of those horrid men. She wiped her mouth on her tattered sleeve and slowly looked up, staring off into the darkness. What had she done!?

Tira slowly climbed to her feet and started walking, not caring where she went, but just wanting to get away. She knew she couldn't run forever though. One day, she'd have to face this horrible reality. It was better that she do it now then wait until later.

She continued walking forward, slowly letting the horror of the night seep in. She had to be strong now. She was not only fighting for herself after all. She reached back to the ratted crimson hood of the shirt and pulled it over her face, hiding her pain beneath it.

As Tira, the innocent little girl from a secluded place, she would have no chance at making it in the world. The world was a terrible place full of cruel and heartless people. Tira could not stand a chance. But, maybe she could survive after all.

Tira stopped again, promising herself there was no more time for tears. She would continue to move forward for the sake of her brother, and when all things were done, then maybe she could come back. Right now, though, she was useless like this.

"From this point on…" she whispered as she started forward again. The wind rushed against her, but she paid it no heed. She pulled the hood tighter around her face and tied it there. She spotted a sparkle as she passed a small puddle of water. She stopped before it to examine the girl that stared back at her. Already, she was no longer Tira Bailar. She saw the fierce amethyst and blue eyes of a renewed woman staring straight back at her. She gentle touched the hood, instantly thinking of her new name.

"I am Akazukin."

Nnn

The young man made his way down the cliff, following the trail of magic he had felt pass that way the previous night. Whatever had flared it up, he didn't know, but he knew that the magic he felt had to belong to an ÄRM. And, his given duty was to make sure that ÄRMs would remain under control.

Since the War Games had ended, he had felt kind of empty, not entirely sure what he should do. He still had the Cross Guard, and they still had their purpose, but he no longer had the friends and bonds that the War Games had built. If not for the Cross Guard, he might have ended up a lonely wanderer.

Fortunately, both the Cross Guard and the Kaldean Council saw that there was still a place for him. He had been given the task of keeping an eye on these so-called "Fakes" that were becoming more and more of a nuisance. Kaldea had taken back as many of the ÄRMs it could, but of course, there were always ones that slipped through. So many had been made that it would be impossible to gather them all up. So, once in a while, a real ÄRM would slip in with the Fakes.

The man's job was usually to care of eradicating the Fakes, or at the very least, keeping them under control, but once in a while, he had a different task. Right now, that was the case. After the surge of magic power from an ÄRM had been released, it was up to him to go and track it down. Because this could be even more dangerous than gathering up the Fakes, he always left his traveling companion back at base. It was hard enough to protect yourself. He didn't need anyone else to worry about.

The man had finally made his way down the cliff. He could see a little cabin in the distance, and he started towards it. It didn't take long for the stench of death to hit him. Moreso, it was just the stench of drying blood, but under the morning's sun, the scent of death mixed into it. It was a horrid smell that he would never get used to, no matter how long he was exposed to it.

Within the nearly seventeen years of this man's life, he had seen more death and war than anyone had ever hoped for. Though he was too young himself to fight in the first War Game, he had watched it and in a way, he had been a part of it. Now, with the second War Game's passing, he had been a fighter in it. And, in the years between the Games, he had been a witness and a fighter against the havoc that Chess had wrecked. He had been forced to grow up quickly.

As he neared the cabin, he could see that it was just one building in the several that made up this little village. However, it was the cabin that had drawn him. He continued moving towards it, seeing a little line of smoke rising from its chimney. The closer he got, the more clear he could see the stains of blood that were lashed out across the dying grass that made up the cabin's front yard.

He stopped when he came to a bloody body, sliced up so badly he wondered if anything human could have done something like this. He knelt down and moved his hand over the body, feeling the stains of magic radiating off of it. Just as he had thought, it had been an ÄRM. The real question was though, who had been the user?

He found a couple men, pretty badly hurt, alone with several almost unharmed besides their psyche, huddled inside the cabin, murmuring amongst themselves. He leaned against the wall and glared down at them.

"What happened?" he asked, nonchalantly. Still, there was an underlying coldness to his voice and in his eyes, and the men were forced to answer for fear of their lives. Even though the hood of his cloak hid most of his face, his piercing purplish blue eyes shone through the shadow like bright daggers. His were the eyes of a fighter and a killer.

"Crazy girl…the wind…a metal star…!" the men spoke throughout the group, but none of them seemed to be able to form a complete sentence. The man frowned, wondering if this ÄRM could possibly be one of the legendary set. It seemed odd though that it would be used in such manner, especially in such a deserted place.

"Settle down. I'm here to help. But, to do so, I'll need you guys to tell me all you can about the ÄRM and its user," the man took a seat by the little wooden table that had been pushed close to the back door. He slowly removed his hood and blinked against the slight change of light.

One of the men looked up at him and gasped, "You're…!"

"Yeah, I am. So, you already know what I can do. Please, tell me what happened."

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Translation notes:

Ojou-chan: kinda like saying "lil missy"

Akazukin: red hood; also the title of the fairytale "Little Red Riding Hood" (I kept the fairytale reference XD )

Ah, somehow, I managed to get the second chapter of this done before I left for Japan. I leave in two days…I'm so nervous, but so excited at the same time! I'm already packed and ready to go though. Ah, waku waku suru ne! I've got totally mixed feelings…

Anyways, I know this left off on a sort of a cliffhanger, but I'll try and get the next chapter up as soon as I can, though I warn you know it may not be for a month. (since that's how long I'll be gone). Still, if you guys know anything bout Aka-chan from the RPs I've used her in, or the art I've done for her, you won't be too guessing (though I did add a character). And, as far as the "young man" goes…if ya know me, ya already know who he is! X3

**If you have a MAR OC who would like to make an appearance in this…contact me so we can chat it out! The best bet is AIM (UkyoTheOkoElf), but you can get my e-mail off of my profile and send me a PM that way, too. **


	3. AKT 2 Tokubetsu na Toreina

MÄR ζ (Zeta)

AKT 2. 特別なトレイナー

_Tokubetsu na Toreina- (A Special Trainer)_

by Sanzaki Kojika

Disclaimer: I do not in any way, shape, or form own MÄR (as much as I'd like to)…I am not Anzai Nobuyuki or Hoshino-sensei! I do however own Akazukin, Hisoka, and any other characters that are of my creation (well, no dah XD ). The time period this story falls into is the 6 year period after MAR ends and before the beginning of Omega (though I will have some Omega-related storyline bits in here. So, you have been warned…**MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS**!!

ALSO: Joe and his background are owned by Joe (). This is just my take on his story, and his character, with permission.

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Akazukin knelt down before the little stream, trying to wash the blood from her hands and legs. During her struggle a couple nights before, she had not only managed to injure herself, but to pick up some of the blood of her attackers as well. No matter how hard she washed though, she just couldn't seem to get the stains to come out.

She fell back on her knees and sighed softly. She reached up to brush a loose strand of hair out of her face, and she caught a glimpse of the shimmering bracelet that now adorned her wrist. She held it before herself, scrutinizing the details on it.

The bracelet was entirely silver in color, and she had come to assume that it was probably made of a very strong and durable metal. But, of course, when magic was involved, that kind of things really didn't matter. The magic would protect it just fine. The chain was a simple chain of small, oval beads with intricate carvings lashed across a few of them. Spaced between the oval beads were smaller round beads. At the center of it was a larger charm in the shape of a star with an ancient rune carved inside of it. It was so plain looking, yet Akazukin felt mesmerized by it.

She slowly stood up and brushed herself off, frowning down at the battered reflection staring back at her. She hadn't slept much, so the shadows under her eyes were accented by the dark circles beneath them. In the daylight, the ratted hood covered so little of her face in shadow that it was quite pointless to wear it. Still, it had become the symbol of her new life.

She still only wore the ripped shirt she had run away in. It was held together by small knots as she had tied the front of it back together in hopes of keeping herself covered until she could find better clothing. The shirt fell to her mid thigh and the sleeves of it almost fell to her elbows. She thanked the gods that the men had been at least nice enough to give her a large thing of clothing. Without that shirt, she would be completely naked.

Her exposed skin was raw with bruises, scratches, and sunburn. She had pretty much traveled straight through the past couple days, and this had been her first time to stop and actually examine the damage. Her feet and ankles were caked with so much mud and blood that she couldn't even see the blisters that had formed there. Unfortunately though, she could still feel them every time she took another step.

In short, Akazukin looked a wreck. She was glad that she at least somewhat better than she felt though. The lack of sleep and food was really getting to her. The drink at the small spring before her had been her first refreshment since she had left the bandits. She had been overly relieved to take it.

She stepped away from the spring and back onto the path. Though it wasn't the wisest thing to do considering her condition, she was too exhausted to worry about traveling through the forest to get to some unknown destination. She rather follow the path in hopes that it would come to a town eventually. Also, her feet really could use a rest from the terrain within the forest. Though the path wasn't the smoothest path either, at least it wasn't being swarmed over by plants and god knows what else.

She hadn't been walking long when her attention averted to the road behind her. She could see no one, but she felt as if someone was coming. She wasn't quite sure how to take it, but she wasn't going to risk not trusting her instincts. She ran ahead a ways and dove into a tall brush. She hid herself inside it the best she could and willed herself to be invisible. All the while, she kept a keen eye on the road, laying in wait for whatever it was that would come her way.

After about five minutes of waiting and still nothing had appeared, she got tired of hiding and decided that maybe she had just imagined it after all. She sighed and stood up, struggling to free herself from the brush. She did so, but at the last moment her shirt caught on a branch. She ripped it free and stumbled out of the brush and smack into the man who had been standing on the road.

The man grabbed Akazukin by the shoulders and she quickly pulled away, jumping a couple feet back on the road. She landed awkwardly and almost stumbled over. She glared at the man and put up a fighting pose. She wasn't going to back down. If this man thought she was weak, she would prove him wrong.

"Are you alright? I don't want to fight," the man said, putting up a hand to appease her. She continued to glare at him, not sure how to take him. The only thing she could judge him by were his intense purplish blue eyes. The rest of his face, and his body, was covered by a tattered brown cloak.

"Ah, right," the man quickly moved to remove his cloak. Akazukin jumped slightly with his movement, but she relaxed when she saw what he was doing. The man beneath the cloak didn't look very intimidating at all.

The man was about Akazukin's age, and though his eyes were one of his most prominent features, they weren't the only things she noticed. He had glossy black hair that rose high in spikes above his head and around his face. His skin was peach with a little tan to it from being outdoors. Below his left eye were two strange markings that were bore semblance to triangles. He had a strong jaw-line and prominent cheekbones. A part of him looked so grown up, but he had still retained a lot of his boyish features. If Akazukin were to sum him up in one word, it would have been "handsome."

Akazukin found herself distracted by him for a moment, and she quickly regained her composure. He took a step closer to her and she glared at him.

"Stay away from me!" she warned. He frowned slightly, but he didn't move to take another step. He could tell she was afraid. He looked her up and down, trying to figure out if she was whom those men had been talking about. By the looks of her, she was indeed. Not only had she been the first person he had run into, she also fit the description perfectly.

"I won't hurt you; I'm here to help," he held out his hand. She continued to glare at him and made no move to go towards him or lessen her guard.

"I'm a member of Cross Guard. My name is Alviss," he continued. He took a step forward and her expression darkened.

"I said, stay away from me!" she hissed. He sighed slightly. Usually, at the mention of Cross Guard and his name, or often times by his appearance alone, people knew that he was one to be trusted. He needed to gain the girl's trust so that he could figure out just what ÄRM it was she was blindly wielding. From what he had managed to get from that group of ruffians, she had never even used an ÄRM before that night.

"Listen! That bracelet on your wrist is an ÄRM. It's not something to be taken lightly," Alviss continued, motioning to the silver on her wrist. Her eyes averted to it for a second and she frowned.

"I know what this is. It's a magic piece of jewelry. I didn't put it on myself, but I won't take it off. I know it will protect me," Akazukin shrugged slightly. She wasn't going to listen him. She had learned the hard way not to trust people so easily.

"Not only just that. It may be a piece of jewelry with magic, but it's made of magic, not just simply filled with it. Without proper training on summoning its power, you could not only hurt others but yourself as well. Stop this foolish charade," Alviss was losing his patience. He knew that the girl had been through a lot in the past nights, but she was being far too stubborn.

"You need my help. Don't be so foolish to turn me away," Alviss moved closer to Akazukin. She glared at him, ready to fight if need be. She glanced down at the bracelet, willing it to come to life and protect her.

When Alviss saw what she was trying to do, he suddenly rushed forward, worry crossing his face, "No! Don't-!"

The bracelet started to shine, but unlike before, the glow was very dim. Instead of activating this time though, Akazukin suddenly felt in a great deal of pain. She clutched at her head, trying to make it stop. Her energy instantly left her, and she toppled to the ground, barely keeping herself conscious. The bracelet on her wrist had returned to normal.

"It's dangerous to use that much magic so close together…" Alviss knelt down beside her. She glared up at him, and he blurred within her vision. She felt terrible.

"Will you let me help you know?" he gentle set his hand on her head. She said nothing, looking angry, frustrated, and embarrassed all at the same time. He smiled slightly and moved to pick her up.

"I'll train you so that this doesn't happen again…" Alviss was talking, but Akazukin was having trouble staying focused. It didn't take her long for her to finally pass out. He carried her limp body in his arms away from there and towards the nearest town.

He had no doubt that he would have a lot of trouble training this girl, but he couldn't just let her be. It was his duty as part of the Cross Guard; it was his duty as a citizen of MÄRHeaven.

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While the War Games raged throughout MÄRHeaven, there were some who went through wars on their own. There was a powerful clan known by the name Fowler, although heir clan's name was Row. This clan had been using ÄRM since their first creation. They were one of the first peoples to master their magic outside of the Kaldeans, who were taught from their birthright. But, with great power always comes great misfortune.

Some of the clan members started to use their powers to draw upon the darkness. Something was born from this darkness, a being that became known as Iblis. But, its power was too great and the other clan members feared what it in its fury could do. In an attempt to stop it, they destroyed its creators then made an effort to seal it away. The elder of the clan cast a sealing spell on Iblis and sealed it away.

At the elder's death though, misfortune befell the clan again as the seal holding Iblis was no longer valid and the darkness took on its rage. In its fury, it destroyed most of the remaining in the clan. Finally, the new clan elder stepped forward and once and for all sealed the darkness away into a scepter…the Scepter of Darkness. This scepter had been specially made to seal the power of the darkness by the great council within the clan. However, even so, Iblis was almost too strong. The elder had to forfeit his life to guarantee the safety of his people.

Tired of the tyranny by this beast, the clan finally broke down and disbanded. The blood of the clan thinned over the years, and soon few ever saw the true abilities it once held. In all of the history of MÄRHeaven, only one of these descendants had ever been recorded. He is but a man named Joe.

Joe had his share of hardships in his life. He spent his life growing up in the care of his family. He was a man with a strong sense of justice and he joined the efforts of MÄR to put a stop to the Chess, even before the War Games began. Though he didn't directly fight along beside them, he did their duty on his own, saving everyone he could from Chess including his own family and a young woman named Monique. Most of his efforts resulted in being defeated, but he almost always saved those who he had tried, with little regard for his own life.

He fell in love with Monique, and as time went by, the two of them grew even closer. Their love wasn't meant to be though. It wasn't long before Monique was taken and tortured by Chess, in an effort to get back at him. Though he tried to save her many times, his efforts were futile.

He never gave up his hope though. He joined up with a group known as the ÄRM Hunters. Together, the group stood up against the Chess and brought their own justice and good upon the world. The group didn't last long after he joined. They completely fell apart when a Chess member destroyed their leader with a kamikaze attack. This just added injury to insult for Joe on the part of Chess. He could not forgive them.

When the War Games started, things only went on to get worse. His siblings Sam and Mitch were killed by Chess members. He was able to avenge Sam by killer her killer, the knight Sara, but the rook Zekk who killed Mitch was successful in evading his attempts. During his fight with Sara, he was injured in the left hip and the damage has remained with him ever since.

Near the end of the War Games, Joe was met with the toughest battle of his life. His beloved Monique had turned on him, and he was forced to fight her to survive. The battle resulted in her death and him seriously injured. He made a miraculous recovery, but promised himself that after he completed one last mission, he would no longer fight. There was far too much pain involved.

He used a powerful upgrade on an ÄRM to hunt down the enemy of his ancestors through the time stream. He found Iblis in the future of thirteen years past, and found the future as something bleak. The world was a horrid place, and much it lay in ruins. Within the volcano he had followed Iblis in, he found his future self sealed away. Confused and frustrated, he ignored Iblis warning and destroyed the being of darkness. He then returned to his time and disappeared from the lives of those he loved that remained. He became dead to the world.

And, as he had been, he was. The gentle Joe of the past was no longer living. He had become a hardened warrior filled with pain and hatred. He had blood stained on his hands that no years of clemency could forgive. He had become a killer and in his actions, he had forgotten the kindness he had once held in his heart. He was scared of the world, and he was scared of what he had become. He fled away from the light and found himself trapped in a darkness all his own.

He finally came to rest in his fleeing at Pazurika Mountains, away from the prying eyes of civilization. Slowly, he started to come around. He traveled often down to Pazu or Pelica to gather supplies, and he started to open himself up to the kindness of the human heart once more. He hid all of his ÄRM away, no longer wishing to fight. That does, however, not make him a weak man. He still possesses the power he had gained in the past. And, though he wishes not to use it, he will should the need arise.

This Joe was the man that the master had sent him out to seek. A small smirk crossed his lips as stared up at the monsters that towered above him. These were the monsters that made up Pazurika Mountains. They were tall, jagged lines of mountains, tangled up in weeds and dangerous trails. He started up one of these trails.

Though hearing the whole history of a man who had foolish given himself up seemed rather pointless, Hisoka knew why his master had told him all of it. It was to show how strong the man was. It was so that Hisoka would not underestimate him. This was his first solo mission, and he couldn't afford any mistakes.

Armed with only one weapon, an elemental ÄRM of fire that he adorned high up on his arm, he knew that this would not be easy. His master wasn't about to let all of those ÄRM go to waste though. ÄRMs were becoming harder and harder to come by. His master would make them so that all could use them, but to do so, he needed more information and to get rid of those that still remained in the world today.

What his master wanted the most though was the ÄRMs of legend. Most of the legendary ones had been already taken care of. Babbo had fallen to his doom, sealed away until someone of his bloodline could awaken him. Kaldea had seen to the sealing of the other legendaries, or at least the recall of them. In the War Games of the past, many powerful ÄRMs had been destroyed in the battle. The few that were left were so far and few, they would be a great asset to the master's plans.

Though Hisoka didn't know the story behind the ÄRM in particular he sought, he did know that it was part of a set. It was just one of four pieces to complete it. Each one represented an element. On their own, these ÄRMs were simple weapon ÄRMs with a little elemental power. But, brought together…these ÄRMs could combat event he forces of the heavens themselves. This kind of power could not be left to sit idly when the master needed it. These children of the elements would fall into his hands. Hisoka would make sure to that.

Hisoka continued up the path, all the while searching out the man that he sought. He had gathered from Pelica that the man named Joe still lived in these mountains. He closed his eyes as he walked, listening to the sounds about him, letting his instincts lead the way.

It didn't take him long to find what he was looking for. Beneath a jumbled mess of rocks and vines, he could see what looked to be the opening of a small cave. Just before it sat a tall man who was whistling to himself and staring off into the distance, seeing another time and another place. For a second, a look of sympathy flickered across Hisoka's face, but it quickly faded and he resumed his vacant stare.

Joe looked up as Hisoka approached and quickly stopped whistling. He blinked at the boy, not sure what to make of him. No magic radiating from him, but that didn't mean anything. Joe stood up to greet him.

"Hello, bouya. What brings you to these mountains?" Joe gave Hisoka a small smile. Hisoka stopped several feet before him and said nothing. There was no sign of emotion registering across his face. Joe frowned slightly.

"Are you alright? You don't look so well…" Joe made a move to get closer to Hisoka. Suddenly, Hisoka shot him a glare and jumped several feet back. His hand moved to his armband.

Joe stood up straight and narrowed his eyes. He could tell by the stance that the boy was ready to fight. He still didn't know the boy's motives though. He wouldn't just blindly strike out unless it was absolutely necessary. He would try and talk things out.

"Listen, bouya, I'm not going to fight you. I don't want to hurt you. So, please, just calm down and talk with me. I'm sure you can do it," Joe held his hand out. Hisoka didn't budge.

"Talking is for fools. Words cannot express that which actions can," Hisoka smirked slightly. Before Joe could make a reply, he jumped into the air and activated his ÄRM.

"Ryu no Ryuusei!" he shouted. The armband started to shine and then vanished as a fiery dragon took its place. The dragon surged forward with a great growl, charging straight towards Joe. Joe quickly dodged out of the way, barely missing getting hit. The back of his clothing was singed.

"Bouya, this isn't funny…" Joe growled. He snatched up a wooden pole that was situated beside where he had been sitting just a moment before. He knew it would be a rather useless weapon against the boy and his flame, but he couldn't just stand there and let himself be cooked. He'd have to try and disable to boy and get away. He would not fight the boy with his power. The boy wasn't strong enough for that.

The dragon flew at Joe again, with a twist of the boy's hand. Considering the power of the ÄRM and the lack of power emanating from the boy, Joe was impressed by his control over it. It seemed slightly awkward though, as if it wasn't so much the boy controlling it, but as if something else was controlling him.

Joe jumped away, trying to get closer to the boy. Hisoka was no fool though. He continued to jump around, keeping himself a safe distance away from Joe. At one point, he managed to completely circle around the little area. He stopped in front of Joe's little house.

Hisoka smirked slightly as he sent the dragon at Joe again. It was then that Joe realize his folly.

"Shit!" Joe screamed as he watched Hisoka make for inside his house. The boy didn't want to fight him, just as he had thought. Now though, he saw the boy's true motives. He had left the ÄRMs in his house and now he wasn't there to guard them. He got so distracted by Hisoka, he failed to move out of the way of the fiery dragon. He took the blunt of the attack and flew back, the pole disintegrating within his hands. He fell back with a thud.

"Don't!" Joe cried out, forcing himself into a sitting position. But, it was too late. Hisoka was already in the house, finding what he had come here to claim.

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Translation notes:

bouya: slang way of referring to a male as "boy"

Ryu no ryuusei: Shooting Star of the Dragon (a fire element ÄRM, c-class. In the form of an armband)

Wait, how the heck did I manage to get the third chapter out, too? O.O Well, I'm not sure, but here it is! I've introduced a new character, too! The first person to contact me and ask for their OC to be put into this story. This is my take on him, so it may be a little different then intended, but I hope I did okay. I was given more about his history and background than I was about his personality…but, I should have enough to make do.

Oops, another kinda cliffhanger, I guess...but then again, don't all chapters technically end up as somewhat cliffhangers? Anyways, this will be my last chapter for some time. I may get some written up while I'm in Japan, but don't count on it! I'll be gone for a month, so please be patient and bear with me…like usual. XD

**If you have a MAR OC who would like to make an appearance in this…contact me so we can chat it out! The best bet is AIM (UkyoTheOkoElf), but you can get my e-mail off of my profile and send me a PM that way, too. **


	4. AKT 3 Yotsu Otakara

MÄR ζ (Zeta)

AKT 3. 四つお宝

_Yotsu Otakara__ (The Four Treasures)_

by Sanzaki Kojika

Disclaimer: I do not in any way, shape, or form own MÄR (as much as I'd like to)…I am not Anzai Nobuyuki or Hoshino-sensei! I do however own Akazukin, Hisoka, and any other characters that are of my creation (well, no dah XD ). The time period this story falls into is the 6 year period after MAR ends and before the beginning of Omega (though I will have some Omega-related storyline bits in here. So, you have been warned…**MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS**!!

ALSO: Joe and his background are owned by Joe. This is just my take on his story, and his character, with permission.

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Hisoka let the bracelet dangle in front of his face for a moment, letting the aura of magic rising from it overtake him. He had never felt anything quite like it. Though the magic itself seemed weak, the potential was endless. Just by looking alone, a great deal about the ÄRM could be understood. That was its power.

"Put that down!" Joe snapped as he ran into the room, stopping to stand a bit behind the intruder. His old weapon had been made useless, but he had managed to snatch up a shovel on his way in. He knew it wouldn't do anything against the boy, but it made him feel a little more secure. He needed his confidence right now.

"Such a waste to let power sit here idly when the world is in need of it," Hisoka said calmly, not bothering to look back. His eyes were still locked on the bracelet shimmering before him. He found himself mesmerized by it. It was almost as if it was calling to him.

"The world is better off without people losing themselves to power…" Joe slowly took a few steps forward, waiting for the boy to turn towards him. Still, Hisoka made no move. Joe hesitated in his movement.

"The corruption of power is inevitable, so why try and fail by holding it back? If the power is hidden, people will seek it out. If it is found, people will try and take it. That is true for all powers," Hisoka turned around slowly, the bracelet still clutched in his hands. His eyes grew darker with each word he spoke. Joe found himself suddenly very nervous.

Though he had realized right away that this was no ordinary boy, he had still thought that Hisoka was just that-a boy. Now as he listened to the maniacal ramble and watched the cold look glisten in Hisoka's eye, he knew he had been wrong about that. There was something else there, something much more. Was this boy even human anymore?

Joe gripped the shovel tightly in his hands, so much that his knuckles turned white. He took another couple steps closer to Hisoka, slowly sizing the boy up. The boy didn't seem to be phased by any of this. He continued to stare with his lifeless eyes at Joe. It was almost as if the boy could see into his soul.

Joe was done standing around, "What the hell are you!?" He growled angrily as he charged towards the boy. Hisoka got ready to activate his ÄRM when suddenly the bracelet in his hand started to pulse. He glanced down at it and a small smirk crossed his face.

Just as Joe reached the boy, the bracelet flared to life. There was a bright flash of light as the magic inside it was activated, coming in defense of the person it had chosen for its new master. Joe stopped as he was blinded by the light, but he didn't let his guard down.

"Hi no Ko!" Hisoka suddenly found himself shouting its name, as if he had known it all along. The light faded and instead of the bracelet he once held, he now was carrying a large silver shurinken, laced with fiery designs. The weapon was a tad heavy, but for the boy, that was an easy burden to bear for the sake of its power.

Hisoka let loose a laugh as he swung the shurinken towards his opponent. The weapon flared to life and fire danced across its four curved blades. Already, Joe could feel the heat emanating off of it. Unfortunately for him, he was far too close to Hisoka to have proper room and time to dodge it.

"Shit!" Joe cursed as he threw up his shovel to block the oncoming attack. The wood of the handle splintered and the head of it flew harmlessly aside, partly melted. The shovel succeeded in slowing the shurinken a little, but still Joe was met with the blunt of the attack. It sliced up his arm and across his shoulder, leaving a bloody trail behind it, as well as a line of singed and burning clothing and skin.

Joe cried out in pain as he jumped back, trying to escape the rest of the shurinken's attack. The weapon flew back to Hisoka, and he casually caught it, the amusement in his eyes growing as he watched the flailing Joe attempt to put out the fire that had caught on his clothing.

"What a nice power indeed," Hisoka ran his hand over the cooling metal. It was still a tad hot too the touch, but thanks to his master, pain was not something he noticed easily. He brought one of the blood-covered blades close to his face and gingerly licked a small bit of blood from it. Joe watched the boy in horror.

"You really are a monster!" Joe snarled at him, slowly skirting the room in hopes of making his way towards a box he had hidden much better than the ÄRM Hisoka had managed to find. Hisoka wasn't about to let him move though, and he whipped the shurinken at Joe. Fortunately, this time, there was enough room for Joe to escape its trail, but the wall of wood behind him was not so fortunate. The instant the Hi no Ko hit, it was lit ablaze.

"Monster, devil, whatever you might call me, I do not care. As long as my master is satisfied, that's all that matters," Hisoka crossed the room, avoiding the flames as he went. The shurinken came back to him, and he let it revert to the bracelet it originally was. He slipped it onto his wrist and stalked out of the room.

"Who is your master!?" Joe screamed after him, but the boy was already too far-gone. He cursed silently and struggled to his feet, and then he hurried over to the wooden crate that was hidden into the wall. He didn't bother to be careful with it as he ripped the cover off with his bare hands and grabbed the silver jewelry that had been collected inside of it. There was no way he could leave this behind, especially after what he had just let happen.

Joe struggled to his feet, carrying his load as he rushed out of the burning building and out into the cool mountain air. Fortunately, the boy was already long gone, so he was safe, for now. He let himself fall to his knees and slowly started to catch his breath.

After a moment, he glanced back at the burning rubble that had once been his home inside the cave. There was no turning back now. He glanced down at the pile of ÄRMs he had let fall to his feet. He had been hoping he would never have to use these again, but he had to get that ÄRM back at all cost. It was bad enough the boy had it and could use it so well. But, if it fell into the hands of someone more powerful, like the boy's master….there would be hell to pay.

Still panting, Joe climbed back to his feet, making a makeshift pouch out of his torn clothing for the ÄRMs he was dragging around with him. Before he went after the boy, he would have to recover. But, even before he did that, he had to let someone else know what had happened. And, he knew the perfect person to go and contact. He hadn't seen her in a long time, but that didn't mean he didn't remember where to find her.

Joe started his painstaking journey down the mountain, not wanting to risk being found by Hisoka again when he was feeling so weak. The outburst of magic was sure to alert some unwanted company. And, to get where he was going, magic was the only way to get there.

Joe found himself smiling slightly. Yes, it had indeed been a long time since he had been to Kaldea.

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Alviss found himself dumbstruck, and his eyes were locked on the girl. He knew it was rude to stare, but he couldn't help it. He had never seen anyone eat in quite that manner. It was far too obvious that she hadn't eaten well in quite a while.

Bell floated about Alviss shoulder, muttering all the while, "Great! Bringing home a random girl…" Of course, she was jealous, though her feelings were misguided. He had brought back this girl because she needed help, and that was all. But, whenever it came to other girls and Alviss, the little fairy always got jealous.

Alan strode over to the other side of the table and set down another plate before Akazukin. She murmured her thanks without bothering to look up. She was too hungry to really care about what else was going on right now. She had never felt more exhausted in her life.

"So, what's the story?" Alan asked as he took a seat next to Alviss on the other side of the table. Alviss shrugged slightly, not sure how to explain it. He had pretty much dragged back a half-naked unconscious girl. If it had been almost anyone else, there would have been serious questions. As it already stood, he had gotten quite a few inquiries by a certain little princess already.

Akazukin's current appearance only went to make matters worse. Upon arrival, she had been given new clothing and a bath, but her body build was quite different from what they were used to, so no clothing fit her quite right. In the end, she had taken up one of Alviss' shirts and a skirt from Snow. The oversized shirt, and the almost undersized skirt, did nothing to hide all of the bandages she was now wearing to cover all of her wounds. She also was still donning the dingy red hood she had put on just a day ago. A couple of the members in Cross Guard had commented that her appearance was somewhat resembling to that of the Chess. Fortunately, she had no interest in such things. That much she had already made clear.

"When I went to investigate the outburst of magic from Kaze no Ko, I found her a total wreck. She was wearing Kaze no Ko on her wrist though, so I'm assuming she's the one who used it. Also, the men who attacked her were pretty much obliterated, but the few survivors indicated it was her, too," Alviss frowned slightly and leaned on the table, using his hands as a rest. He watched her closely, but she continued to ignore everything around her except for the food. He was amazed she could eat that much. This had to have been at least her seventh plate.

"And, the only thing she'll give us is the name Akazukin. No doubt, that isn't her real name, but we will just have to respect her wishes for now," Alan leaned back in his chair and chuckled slightly.

"But what now?" Alviss sighed and leaned back as well. He had been told to search for these four ÄRMs of elements, the Mahou no Ko, but so far, the only one he had found had already been activated. There was a good chance that the other three would shortly follow suite. It was all just a matter of time. He hated to think what the result could be if someone managed to get all four of them together. It was best to just take them all and hide them away, but he knew that way would be foolish in the end.

"We train her. We have to make sure she can keep the ÄRM safe. It's too late to try and keep it from her now; it saved her life, she won't part with it so easily. Besides, it chose her as its master, despite her lack of magic power or experience. All we can do now is see to it that she learns to use it properly so she won't have a repeat of when you found her," Alan nodded his head slightly, decided, as he spoke, that it was the best way. It was really too late to turn back now.

Suddenly, their conversation was interrupted by a loud clanking sound. They looked over to Akazukin who had finally finished eating and dropped her fork onto the empty plate. She was glaring over at them.

"Don't talk like I'm not here. I can hear you," she narrowed her eyes at them. She stood up and crossed over to the other side of the table. She glared down at them and folded her arms across her chest.

"I'm not just something you can control."

Alviss slowly stood up and stared her straight in the eyes, neither of them flinching beneath the other's glare. Alviss was barely taller than her, so the two stood almost at equal footing. Finally, Alviss started to speak, "We won't try to control you, but we can't just let you do what you want. You've picked up something quite dangerous if it falls into the wrong hands."

Akazukin glared at him then risked a quick glance down at her bracelet. She really didn't understand just what it was, but she knew it wasn't normal. The aura flowing from it was now running through her veins. The sense of power and security it had given her was indescribable. Because of this, she was not foolish enough to dismiss the possibility that this bracelet could end up indeed being dangerous.

"What is this?" Akazukin motioned to the bracelet on her wrist. She held up her arm and let it dangle before her face. All the while, the cold look never ceased to peer out from behind it towards Alviss. He frowned slightly.

"You really don't know, huh?" Alan spoke up from behind them. He stood up and came to stand right behind Alviss. Being quite a bit taller than the other two, Akazukin had to look up clearly see his face. He gave her a friendly grin.

"Please sit down, and we will explain it. This may take a while, though," he motioned towards the bench he had just been sitting on. Slowly, Akazukin passed Alviss and took a seat, all the while watching the two with wary eyes. Alan moved to pull up a chair and sat beside her at the end of the table, and then he motioned for Alviss to sit back down. Once they were all situated, he got ready to start the explanation:

"Long ago, a group of magic users living in Kaldea. For unknown reasons…perhaps to give normal people a chance to use magic, or perhaps with other motives, they took everyday jewelry and endowed it with magic. These ÄRMs, as they came to be called, have many different uses, and are broken into classes. The types are weapons, those with the ability to become usable weapons for fighting; guardian, those with the ability to summon magical creatures to come to the user's aid; nature, those with the ability to control the natural elements; dimension, those with the ability to transport and teleport people and items over distances in a short time; holy, those with the ability to heal various ailments and wounds; and dark, those with the ability to distort reality and disturb a person's well being."

Akazukin cut him off, waving her bracelet in his face, "Then, what is this? It can become a weapon, but it can also use elemental magic, right? I think wind came out of it…" She trailed off and clutched the bracelet close to her chest.

"It's a Weapon ÄRM, but it can also use wind. It's a specialty weapon that was made with that purpose in mind," Alviss explained from beside her. He had his arms folded across his chest, and he didn't even bother to look at her. She glared at him, but quickly cast her gaze back towards Alan.

Alan cleared his throat and went to elaborate, "Though what you have is indeed a Weapon ÄRM by type, it also has some elemental ability. This is not anything unusual as usually the user also has a defined element they can easily control with very little help from items. But, the specific ÄRM you had was created many years ago by a clan of magic users from Kaldea known as Bailar."

Akazukin's eyes widened slightly, and Alviss took note of her sudden change in expression, but neither of them spoke. Alan, taking advantage of this awkward silence, moved on to continue once more:

"The Bailars, just like many of the other families within Kaldea, helped with the creation of ÄRM. They were renowned throughout the kingdom for their masterful craftsmanship. But, soon a member of the family became dissatisfied, and this feeling started to spread throughout the Bailar ranks. Slowly, and steadily, they became isolated from the rest of Kaldea, living a bit away from the rest of the kingdom and acting as if their clan was the world alone. Not only did their feelings change, but their methods changed as well. They started to make ÄRMs for themselves alone, and they started to rely on stealth and speed for their fighting. Donning themselves in all black, they started to wreck havoc on the rest of Kaldea, destroying some of the ÄRMs and materials to build them.

"Of course, Kaldeans aren't so easily dissuaded from their practices, despite the Bailars attempt to warn them of the dangers that could arise from it, in their odd way. In their final attempt to show the Kaldeans their mistake, they created four pieces of an elemental puzzle. Each of these pieces covered the four basic elements: wind, fire, water, and earth. Kaldea grew greedy and massacred the clan in an attempt to steal these ÄRMs away. The Bailars were not fools though, and the few surviving clan members separated the pieces and managed to fade away, losing all contact with each other and Kaldea. Alone, these ÄRMs are really not anything special, but brought altogether…the consequences are unthinkable," Alan took a deep breath as he finished his story. Akazukin frowned at him, not quite gasping what he had just said. She could feel her heart pounding in her chest. Is that what had led her family to her village more than two hundred years ago….?

Before anymore could be said, there was a loud commotion heard outside. A moment later, a young man rushed in, breathing heavily, and stopped just before Alan. He didn't even bother to catch his breath before he spoke, "Hi…no…ko…been…found…"

He took another deep breath and tried to speak again. He shook his head as he did so, "It's already been activated. In Pazurika mountains…"

Alan cursed slightly and started to issue out orders. With only a quick glance back at Alviss, the boy stood up and hurried to move Akazukin from the room and away from the commotion. She could feel the blood pulsating in her head as she listened to the shouting about her.

"Come on. You can rest in your room for a while. We'll start your training tomorrow," Alviss explained as he dragged her along. She could barely hear him though. She was too focused on the sinking feeling in her stomach.

Somehow, without really knowing why, she knew her little brother was involved…

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Translation notes:

Hi no Ko: "Child of Fire"; a B class ÄRM in the form of a bracelet; it's one of the four Children of Magic (Mahou no Ko); just like its namesake, it's the fire element

Shurinken: throwing star (yes, like ninja's…)

Kaze no Ko: "Child of Wind"; a B class ÄRM in the form of a bracelet; one of the four Mahou no Ko; just like its namesake, it's the wind element

Hm…technically, I should be writing Alviss name like "Alvíss," but I'm gonna be lazy with this…then again, how many people actually spell his name right? XD Hm, I find this kinda amusing…most of this story is made up when it's written, so there are plenty of things I'm not so sure of. But, when I realized I had covered two of the elements with Hisoka and Aka-chan, I decided to add in the other two to finish the set. I'm not sure why I ended up dragging Kaldea in there, but actually, originally, Akazukin's first character design was a bored sorceress from Kaldea who left it to find adventure… the only ÄRM she still has from those days is Kaze no Ko…

Guys, this is a great time to get some of your OCs thrown in! I've got Kaldea and more Cross Guard in the next chapter, and who knows when I'll actually go into Hisoka's "master" and his stuff. So, please send some my way!

**If you have a MAR OC who would like to make an appearance in this…contact me so we can chat it out! The best bet is AIM (UkyoTheOkoElf), but you can get my e-mail off of my profile and send me a PM that way, too. **


	5. AKT 4 Bishoujo Majutsushi

MÄR ζ (Zeta)

AKT 4. 魔術師美少女

_Majutsushi Bishoujo __ (The Beautiful Sorceress)_

by Sanzaki Kojika

Disclaimer: I do not in any way, shape, or form own MÄR (as much as I'd like to)…I am not Anzai Nobuyuki or Hoshino-sensei! I do however own Akazukin, Hisoka, and any other characters that are of my creation (well, no dah XD ). The time period this story falls into is the 6 year period after MAR ends and before the beginning of Omega (though I will have some Omega-related storyline bits in here. So, you have been warned…**MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS**!!

ALSO: Joe and his background are owned by Joe. Jay is owned by Zecarius. Akili is owned by Baze. Clochette is owned by Embla. This is just my take on their stories, and their characters, with permission.

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Blood. Death. The stench of it was all around him. He couldn't see anything except for the blood that clung to his hands. When he closed his eyes, the faces of the dead haunted him, drifting through his mind. There was no solace for him.

Hisoka slowly knelt down, dipping his hands once again into the cerulean water. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't rub the memory of blood from his hands, even if he had succeeded in rubbing most of the skin on his hands raw. The memory would haunt him forever.

"Yo, whatcha doing?" a girl's voice chirped up from behind him. When he didn't glance back at her, she moved to his side and blinked down beside him. She frowned when she saw the tears running down his cheeks. Slowly, she leaned in closer and poked his cheek.

"Hey, what's that?" she blinked at him. He pulled away and continued to stare into the water, not looking at her. She pouted slightly beside him, unaware that he could see her reflection. She was a girl of barely sixteen with a still rather young-looking body and two large purple eyes that peered back at him. Her hair was a deep black and pulled up on the side of her head in pigtails. The clothing she wore was all in shades of purples and blacks, save for the white top she wore underneath it. Her current fashion taste sort of resembled that of a gothic school-girl. The water was slowly being stained by Hisoka's own blood, turning her to a shade of dark crimson, and making her even seem more deathly.

"What is it…?" Hisoka finally managed to get out. He hadn't felt like this in a long while. It was really strange, almost as if his mind wasn't really his anymore. He had seen the blood and death through another's eyes, yet he found his own two hands stained by them. It was like awakening from a nightmare every time he opened his eyes. And throughout these nightmares, all he could do is watch in a dark haze. There was nothing he could do to stop it.

"Master's calling!" she grinned over at him, and still he didn't turn his head. She pouted again and once more poked him in the cheek. She stood up then, and she walked to stand behind him.

"Master…" he repeated the words aloud. He knew who the man was, but he could never clearly remember the master. When Hisoka had been inducted into his following, whenever that had been, all had been explained. But, all of the boy's memories were a fuzzy blur, and what was most frustrating was the golden fuzz that tainted the back of his mind. It had been something that was starting to gain more focus more recently. But, still, it wasn't something sustainable enough to grasp onto.

The girl, finally accepting that he was just going to continue to ignore her, started to ramble on, "My name is Lil, and I'm gonna be your partner for this next task! It won't be easy, so be prepared! But, don't worry! I'm pretty strong! My guardian trio is the best!"

"Hisoka," he replied dully, not really wanting company right now. Then again, all he really wanted right now was to fall into the water and just get carried away as his troubles were washed beyond him. This pain, this guilt…things he could barely understand, being little more than a fourteen year-old boy, yet, he was already burdened with the sorrows of a fallen angel.

"Come on, Hisoka! Get up!" Lil was suddenly beside him, tugging at his arm. He allowed her to drag him to his feet and slowly he turned to face her. The wretched look on his face was more than the girl could take though, and she stumbled back slightly.

"Hisoka…" she blinked at him, trying to figure out just what emotion it was that he was expressing. She hadn't seen anyone look like that in a long time…not since she had run away from her older sister…

"Sorry…" Hisoka wiped his eyes on his sleeve, trying to dry his tears. Even if they stopped on the outside though, he knew there was nothing that could quell the storm rising in his soul. He no longer even felt human.

"Er…" Lil was caught off guard and found herself struggling to respond. Instead, she turned away with a flip of one of her black pigtails and frowned. She had been partnered with many different people involved in the Fakes, but this was her first time dealing with someone quite like him. For one thing, she had always been the youngest of the master's foremost fieldworkers. To have someone younger than her as a partner, for a change, was a bit disturbing. That anyone younger than sixteen could be this powerful was beyond her!

"Anyways! Master wants us to go and get this ÄRM off of some chick who's currently staying in Ragenrave. It's not hard to miss, though right now, the girl can't use its true power, so we can't go off of magic sense alone. That's all that old fart told us, like usual. He always keeps us guessing in the dark!" Lil folded her arms across her chest as she ranted. It was bad enough to get stuck working with a rather newbie partner, but to also be sent on such a vague mission made it twice as bad! Sure, she was used to getting only partial information for her missions, but this time, it seemed abnormally lacking. It was almost as if that bastard was playing games with her.

Lil muttered to herself as she started forward, not even bothering to see if her new partner was following her. Of course, Hisoka did, though he was too lost in his own thoughts to really pay attention. So, when she abruptly stopped to pull out her dimension ÄRM, he, of course, ran into her.

"Watch it!" she hissed and he mumbled his apologies. This was the first time he had ever been assigned a partner, so he wasn't really sure what to make of it. He couldn't remember much besides the senseless violence in his other missions, but he knew that they had been solo. And, most of his missions so far, excluding the harvest of the ÄRM he now adorned on his wrist, had been very simple ones. He had no doubt that this one wouldn't be so straightforward.

"Just give me your hand already so that we can go!" she snapped at him again. He thrust forward his hand and she gripped it tightly, nearly hurting him, before she shouted to activate her ÄRM and the two of them teleported away.

Nnnnnnnn

The young, hot-headed Kaldean ran from the gates, eager to alert the council of just what had arrived. Though he was still too young to work as a guard, and because of his social status, he'd probably never get to do anything more important than inner gate duty, he was always watching out for anything to prove just what he was worth. He would make them rue the day that they underestimated him.

"Oi, what are you in such a hurry for?" one of the guards outside the palace stopped him. The little boy stopped to glare up at him, but then he tried to continue by pushing his way through.

"I have to tell Dorothy-sama something! It's really important!" he exclaimed. It wouldn't be too long now that the actual guards of the gates would meet their guest. If he could to her before then….surely, it would show just how good of a gate watcher he could be. Then, he would be able to get the job hands down. Guarding the outer gates was much more important than what he was destined for. He would stop at nothing to make it happen. He had a lot to make up for, ever since his ancestor's folly.

Kaldean law was such that any sin on the ancestor's part would follow the family until they could right it. In the case of the boy's family, it would be nearly impossible to right it. The most he could hope to do is rise up against the oppression and prove to them that not everyone in the Ünwetter family was such a fool.

"You know we can't just let you in here! If there is really something important, report it to us and we will make sure it gets taken care of," the guard chuckled slightly. The boy just continued to glare back at him.

"I have to tell her myself! It's _that_ important!" he almost screeched. The guard's smile faded slightly. He was clearly getting annoyed at the boy. Before he could say anymore though, the gate behind him swung open and he had to move to let the person out.

"Aw, picking on poor Inga again? Don't you have anything better to do?" Dorothy teased as she stepped out from the fortress. She still wore her long pink hair in two braids that flowed down to the back of her knees, but her wardrobe itself had changed. She was growing up, and no longer was a somewhat naíve child set out on the world. Her mission back from the time had changed her with the murder of her older sister, Diana, at her own hands. In the end, she had freed the eldest sibling in her family, but it had left her heart feeling broken and weak. Of course, she wasn't the kind of girl to let it get to her openly. She continued to walk forward towards tomorrow with her head held up even higher than ever before. She would show them the strength her time with Ginta and Team MÄR had brought her.

The outfit she wore now still was all black, as was most of the Kaldean fashion, but it was shorter cut and a bit more revealing, showing off all of her curves. It was a shoulder-less dress with short puffy sleeves falling just above her knees in a rather askew cut. A sash of silver was tied around her waist at the side, leaving one part of it bunched up compared to the rest of it. Her ever-faithful scarecrow ÄRM was still around her neck, but now it was carried on a black choker. Her tall black boots rose up to her knees, almost rising up to meet her skirt. Yes, she had changed a bit, but she still felt like the same woman she had always been.

"Dorothy-sama!" the guard started. Though it wasn't surprising to see the beautiful sorceress at the fortress, but her timing couldn't have been worse, at least in his thinking. He never liked it how much she paid attention to that little brat.

"And you, Inga! Shouldn't you be at your studies?" she knelt down to face him at eye level. He blushed a bit, embarrassed at the mistake he had made, but he didn't back down. He had to tell her.

"Well, I have to go and meet our guest! He'll be reaching the gates shortly!" she grinned as she turned to leave. Inga grabbed onto her wrist to stop her. She blinked down at him.

"Wait…you already knew…?" he frowned slightly. He had been so excited about telling her that he had ditched his last class to come and find her. Not only had he ended up just making a full of himself, he also had a harsh punishment later. Why was he always cursed like this…?

Dorothy placed her hand on his head and ruffled his hair slightly. She found herself becoming strangely attached to the boy, almost as if he was her own little brother. Maybe it was because they shared the same pain of their families' responsibilities? Well, whatever it was, she didn't really care.

"Dorothy-sama…!?" Inga stuttered slightly as he tried to look up at her. She moved her hand so that he could lift his hand. She gave him a warm smile.

"Inga, you have good eyes, and you will be a great asset when you're older. But, remember, I have good eyes, too!" she gave him a wink before ruffling his hair once more. Then, she turned and walked off to go and meet their guest.

Inga looked after her, his face flushing slightly. In a way, he was angered, but another part of him was pleased. In her offhanded way, Dorothy had given _him_ a compliment. That's right; the hot-tempered youth no one ever though could amount to anything had just received a compliment from the powerful and beautiful Dorothy-sama! He could feel his heart pounding in excitement.

Dorothy glanced back and waved her hand slightly, "Inga! Better get back to class if you want to get stronger!" At Dorothy's beckon, the boy hurried off in the opposite direction and back to his lesson. She chuckled slightly. It wasn't as if he needed to be told; she expected great things out of that boy one day. The burden he held would force him to become strong.

She hummed to herself as she made her way down the streets of Kaldea to the front gate. She could already see the gate slowly opening as she approached. She watched as a guard moved towards the opening to switch posts. Not quite what she had been expecting, but she should have known better to think that they would have spotted him yet. She chuckled slightly.

Dorothy waved her hand as she approached the guard who was leaving. He blinked at her, confused to see her near the gate, but bowed his head in greeting. She let him continue on his way as she moved to the gate.

"Open up the gate for the fellow who's coming. He should be landing shortly," Dorothy ordered from her side of the gate. She heard the muffled response and then leaned against the wall, waiting. It wouldn't be too much longer now.

Sure enough, about three minutes later, she could hear a commotion on the other side. Though the man had used a dimension ÄRM to get closer to Kaldea, he had to climb the rest of the way there, like most people. Of course, in Kaldea, special flight ÄRMs were given to help them get to the floating fortress. For this man to reach it himself, he must have had a similar ability.

The gate slowly opened and Dorothy found herself face-to-face with a rather worn-out looking man. It was obvious he had been injured, and no doubt, he hadn't waited to heal before coming here. He must have had a very good reason indeed.

"Come in," Dorothy motioned for him to step inside. The guards let him past, knowing better than to question Dorothy's authority. He stepped through the threshold and followed the sorceress to the fortress in the center of Kaldea.

As they walked, he explained himself, trying to keep himself distracted from ogling Dorothy, "My name is Joe. I have been living my life away in the serenity of Pazurika Mountains, but I no longer feel I have the right to remain there in silence. Because of my foolishness, mayhem could befall this world."

"I think I know what you're talking about…but don't say too much here. We will talk when we get to the elder," Dorothy gave him a smile as the fortress loomed ever closer. Soon they were inside it, beyond the outside world. They headed straight to meet with the elder.

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Akazukin gave the little girl a strange look. Just who was she, and how did she manage to get herself inside the private quarters!? By the looks of it, she was at least fourteen or fifteen, not so much constituting her as a little girl, but the aura she gave off had the naivety of somebody younger.

"Are you feeling better?" the girl asked. Akazukin just nodded slightly. She hated all the badgering she had been getting from the others all day. Couldn't she just have a moment of peace!? She slumped down on her bed and continued to stare at the girl, with icy eyes.

The girl just continued to smile at her and bounce around the room, "Where are you from? I hear your name is Akazukin, what a strange name! That isn't your real name, ne? I also heard you have a powerful ÄRM. You must be strong."

There was a loud knocking on the door that interrupted the girl's babbling. Before Akazukin could move to answer the door though, the girl quickly intercepted her.

"Let's play sometime! Take care!" she grinned before hurrying out onto the balcony. Akazukin blinked and hurried after her, just in time to watch the girl rather awkwardly jump to the adjacent window. There was an angry voice yelling at the girl, but she seemed unfazed. What an odd girl!

"Akazukin!" the door flew open and Alviss rushed in. For a moment, it almost looked as if concern washed over his face, but it quickly was replaced by a scowl. She glared back at him.

"What do you think you're doing rushing in here!? Have some manners," Akazukin folded her arms across her chest. Though she was fully dressed, it wasn't the usual manner for accepting visitors. She had been asleep until just a bit ago, when she had awaken to the sound of that strange girl coming in off her balcony and knocking on the window. Though Akazukin had let her in without much thought, it was indeed something rather rare. She wondered if this place was full of crazed people like that.

She was dressed in a small tube top that barely covered her stomach and a pair of slightly baggy shorts she had to tie to keep up. She had a jacket as well though, but she had yet to done it on. She moved now to do so, all the while the eyes of her visitor on her.

"Er…" Alviss seemed a bit lost for words. He quickly regained his composure though, "You were supposed to be ready fifteen minutes ago! You're going to be late for training!" He roughly grabbed her wrist and dragged her from the room. She glared at him and pulled away.

"Well, excuse me! I got a little caught up when some crazy girl climbed into my room! What was I supposed to do, just leave her there?" she hissed. Alan came up behind them and chuckled slightly, hitting them both hard on the back.

"Ah, so you've met our little princess, then? Snow-hime was looking forward to meeting you," Alan grinned. Alviss sighed and shook his head.

"Snow really needs to learn how to act her part," Alviss sighed again and rubbed his head slightly. Bell floated over to him and seated herself down on his shoulder. She stuck her tongue out at Akazukin and turned away. Akazukin gave her a funny look.

"Well, regardless of that, we better hurry! I don't think Gaira is going to be thrilled at having to wait!" Alan and Alviss picked up their pace, each of them holding one of Akazukin's arms. She sighed and let herself be dragged down the hall and out to the courtyard.

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Translation notes:

Oi: hey

-sama: an ending showing a high level of respect; sometimes translated as "master" or "mistress"

-hime: princess

Ugh, I think this chapter is horrible! But, the stuff that I really really am inspired to write right now isn't happening until later…so, sorry about that I promise to do better the next time! Whenever I get the next one done…ahahahha! XD

**If you have a MAR OC who would like to make an appearance in this…contact me so we can chat it out! The best bet is AIM (UkyoTheOkoElf), but you can get my e-mail off of my profile and send me a PM that way, too. **


	6. AKT 5 Hajimeta no Toki

MÄR ζ (Zeta)

AKT 5. 初めての時

_Hajimete no toki __ (The First time)_

by Sanzaki Kojika

Disclaimer: I do not in any way, shape, or form own MÄR (as much as I'd like to)…I am not Anzai Nobuyuki or Hoshino-sensei! I do however own Akazukin, Hisoka, and any other characters that are of my creation (well, no dah XD ). The time period this story falls into is the 6 year period after MAR ends and before the beginning of Omega (though I will have some Omega-related storyline bits in here. So, you have been warned…**MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS**!!

ALSO: Joe and his background are owned by Joe. Zekk is owned by Zecarius. Akili is owned by Baze. Clochette is owned by Embla. This is just my take on their stories, and their characters, with permission.

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In the far outer reaches of MÄRHeaven, there lies a land known as Eterness, nicknamed the capital of Light. It is said that this place appears as nothing more than a pillar of light rising towards the sky from the center of the ocean. And others say it is hidden deep within the mountains. Only Kaldea knows the truth behind this little country, and together the two great magic countries combine their powers to create Holy ÄRM beyond comparison. Though there is no actual reason known for sure, the common rumor is that it's because Eterness is bathed in a powerful purifying light that can easily command back the Darkness.

This little country has been plagued by war for many a years, against a small section of Chess, unrelated to the main legion, led by a terrifying being known as Alpha. This being is not a man, but a creature not of this world. It is said that he is immortal and invincible. It was but several years ago that Alpha merged with Chess, but, alas, the war itself has been waging for more than one hundred long years. The King and his lovely wife Pheletta advanced with what appeared to be the most effective strike yet. But, in the end, the only result was the untimely death of their great King. Pheletta, in her stricken state, ended up remarrying just a couple of years later, much to her children's resentment. The man she married was the head knight of their magnificent kingdom, a man named Odiss.

Odis was a just and fair king, ruling over the land with the wisdom of ages and the kindness of the gods. Months after their marriage, it was announced that the queen was pregnant with child, once again. Her two children, Aurin and Noir were enraged by the news and in their blind rage, cast aside any respect for the new king they had ever hoped to have. The young princess was born and cast off by her siblings, spending her time in a lonely solitude. She was presented with an orphan who had lost his parents in the war, and she and this Solence became like true brother and sister.

This brief era of peace would never last. Four years later, Alpha attacked again, this time aiming directly for the royal lineage that held the country up. The king and queen were slaughtered, as was much of the palace, save the children who were heralded to safety by a brave knight called Izick. After the painful massacre, the country rose like a Phoenix from the ashes, and the oldest son Aurin took reign of the kingdom as its new king. He didn't handle the pressures of his newfound responsibility well, and soon he pushed away even his dear sister Noir. As the siblings' relationships started to get even worse, much distraught was found within the walls of the castle. Finally, in a hasty move, Noir fled from the country, never to be heard of again. All this time, it has been presumed that she is dead.

With the departure of Noir, a strange thing happened. The little princess reached out to comfort her older half-brother, and he accepted her heart graciously. Together with Solence, they trained in combat and slowly became a true family. What was most strange was the present Aurin presented to his younger sister on her sixteenth birthday. It was an old gauntlet, covered in more than just history.

"The Gauntlet of Aethena," King Aurin named it as he presented it thus, "the ÄRM meant for the lost Noir, now to be entrusted to you. Only women in our bloodline can wield it and bring it to life." The young princess gladly accepted the ÄRM, only to learn that the price of wielding it was high. She would have to hunt down numerous magic stones just to activate it.

It was on that same night that the Chess and Alpha discovered a secret passageway into the capital via a water route. The horror of it all was that the information had been presented directly to them by someone within the walls of Eterness! Using this new information, they took the opportunity on this supposed celebratory night to launch an all-out attack on the country from both water and air. The palace was soon lit ablaze and King Aurin stood at the heart of the palace, leading the battle with all the strength and courage any one man could muster. The young princess spent her time ushering civilians to safety through a magic statue called the Transport Circle, endowed with the powers of Andarta. When she realized her beloved Solence was no longer by her side, she rushed back to the palace to retrieve him.

She found him and stood aghast against what she saw. There he stood, surrounded by the broken bodies of her comrades, and bathed in their blood. He turned to her, a wicked glint in his eye.

"They accepted me…unlike your wretched brother! I couldn't be in the army…I couldn't have your hand im marriage…I couldn't get back what this damned country had taken from me!" he hissed, the anger and hatred penetrating through his bones. "So, I did what I could do…I sold this place out. It's my fault this happened…"

The young princess could not belive her eyes. As her eyes watered and she shok her head in disbelief, he slowly held his hand out to her, "But we can change it…we can start over, just the two of us."

Outraged at his betrayal and stricken with grief over all the losses she had accrued, she turned on her heels and fled, trying to get as far away from the wretched man as she could. Unfortunately, she was captured by the Chess moments after.

The next several hours of her life were the most horrendous she had ever known, and they dragged out as if they spanned an eternity. King Aurin has been captured as well, and his execution had been reserved for the hand of Alpha. As they dragged her brother forward, their eyes met and then their foreheads, holding the glimmer of hope that was quickly fading. He told her to be strong, willed her to survive before he was dragged away towards his executioner. It was at that moment that the princess learned just how strong the bond of family really was.

Alpha suddenly appeared, as if out of magic. He had long, flowing white hair and his body was covered in menacing-looking armor of the deepest black, that which no light could penetrate. Strange parasites crept out from the cracks in his armor as he moved. With one swift movement, her brother was dead and her voice was echoing through the room, in anguish. He turned towards her and readied his sword to take her life as well.

When he saw the hatred burning behind the young girl's eyes, he was faintly amused, and decided to spare her life for the time being. Instead, he decided to toy with her, and left her with his army, specifically ordering that she not be killed. The next four hours of the girl's life were a living hell. She spent them in an agonizing pain as she was tortured nearly to death.

As she came to the verge of consciousness, she was met by the sweet smell of the white flowers that adorned her family's graveyard. She looked up to see her brother grotesquely hanging and his blood still dripping onto the white below. She struggled to her feet, blood running down her right eye, and was finally given a bit of solace at the appearance of the last knight of Eterness, Izick. Together, the two gave her dear brother a proper burial. As the day grew on and night fell upon them once more, the remaining survivors of the land started to stir forth.

It was on that day that the princess became a hardened warrior with a vow for vengeance.

Years passed by, and the young princess grew into the Queen of Eterness. She successfully rebuilt the capital, but there are voids that can never be filled. Knowing that another war with Alpha was inevitable, the young Queen ventured forth into the world, trying to ally her kingdom with forces beyond Kaldea. At the time though, another legion of Chess run by Phantom was wrecking havoc throughout the land, and Levasta's Queen had to decline the girl's request.

Not easily discouraged, the girl returned to her homeland to strike out just a few months later again, knowing now that the war in MÄRHeaven has ended. Lord Izick and the Council look over the kingdom for her during her journeys, and she constantly keeps in touch with them.

It is that renowned hope and the memory of the heroes that have saved the battle-scarred land numerous times that have led the young Queen out on her journey now. It is that which has brought her to Levasta.

Clochette was now a young woman of twenty-one years old, but she was still naïve and almost childish in her ways. She stared up in awe at the cracking mess that rose before her, wondering if this could truly be the place that she had sought out all those month ago. So much had changed in so little time! It looked as if the force of the war had fallen directly onto Levasta.

She made her way through the cracking walls, passing by a few lonely soldiers who tended to their care. She could tell there was a lot of work to be done, but when she saw the light on their faces, she was encouraged. This was just more proof that people could rebuild after being torn down.

The castle itself was still standing, but there were some places where it looked to be damaged and as if it would fall down at any minute. She frowned, wondering if the Queen still lived there. She quickened her pace, hoping for the best, but preparing for the worst.

As she climbed to the castle steps, she was alerted right away by the fact that there were no guards. Instead, the stone doors stood towering over her, daring her to move them. She took a deep breath and moved forward to push them.

"Don't bother! Nobody's home!" a young girl's voice piped up from behind her. She whipped her head around, but found herself face-to-face with nothing but the walls stretching out around her. She frowned, so sure she had heard the voice.

"This place is under construction, so it's dangerous to live her right now!" the voice continued on. This time, she was able to figure out where it was coming from. She jumped off of the steps to glare up at the awning hanging dangerously low above the castle's steps. Situated on it was a young girl with black hair pulled into pigtails. In her lap sat a teddy bear of purple.

"If it's so dangerous, what are you doing here?" Clochette casually remarked. Though the girl looked harmless, she did not like the vibe she was getting off of her. It was almost as if this girl had magic and was purposely hiding it. But, if that was the case…than that meant Clochette could wind up in trouble.

"I'm here on vacation with my sister," the young girl flashed Clochette a grin. She suddenly stood up and with a careful step, she jumped from the awning to land gracefully on the stairs before the older women. Clochetter openly narrowed her eyes at the girl.

"But, you're all alone…" Clochette frowned, feeling for the safety of one of her weapons. The little girl just giggled and held the teddy bear up.

"Nope, I've got Nee-san with me, right here!" the girl grinned, waving her teddy bear about. Clochette blinked at it, starting to really question the sanity of this girl.

"I see…" Clochette took a step back as the girl advanced, suddenly on edge. The hair on the back of her neck was standing up.

"Oh yeah…" the girl suddenly continued, placing her finger on her bottom lip, "I forgot! I got a partner with me, too, Queen Clochette of Eterness!"

Before Clochette had time to react, she heard the sound of a heavy foot fall behind her. She whipped around, just in time to dodge away from the shurinken that was flying at her. She didn't manage to escape it entirely, and she cried out as it sliced open her side. She tumbled back, expecting blood, but oddly, there was none. She quickly risked a glance down and was surprised to see that the wound was singed closed. She tottered to her feet, glaring at the newcomer as well as the girl.

"Whoa, Hisoka-chan! You're awesome!" the girl cheered, bringing her teddy bear to her chest as she waved her free arm wildly about in the air. The boy barely glanced at her, and that was when Clochette saw his eyes. They were lifeless pools of grey-blue, as if the souls had been sucked out of him. She was terrified, but she wouldn't back down now. She had her kingdom to save.

"Nature ÄRM, Ragnarok!" she shouted as she thrust her wrist into the air. The bracelet started to glow and slowly formed a giant halberd. She caught it delicately with one hand and swung it at her opponent. The boy easily dodged it, continuing to stare at her with his listless eyes.

Clochette cursed silently. What had she just landed in the middle of!?

nnnnnn

Akazukin was forced to an abrupt stop when the two dragging her along nearly collided into a large older man waiting right outside the door. Not one of them seemed fazed though, and she herself was perplexed by their reactions. Alviss and Alan loosened their grips on her and finally, let go entirely. The two of them reached forward to greet the man.

"Gaira!" Alan laughed, letting Akazukin go to shake the older man's hand. The two men exchanged kindly words, and Akazukin felt more than a little out of place. Next it was Alviss turn to greet Gaira. Akazukin stood awkwardly in the background, pretending to be distracted by a sole leaf that had managed to make its way into the courtyard.

Finally, the old man made his way to the newcomer. She looked sheepishly up at him, suddenly feeling very subconscious. She wanted to run and hide, but he simply grinned at her and offered her his warm hand, "Welcome to the temporary base of the Cross Guard!"

She hesitantly took his hand. She was surprised by the strong grip he had, and she nearly yelped when he squeezed her hand. She quickly pulled back, and he laughed slightly, apologizing for scaring her. Alviss sighed and moved to stand beside her.

"Come on, now. Don't be such a wimp!" Alviss muttered as he grabbed onto her arm. He roughly pulled her out into the courtyard. Instead of struggling to break free, as she learned the futility of it earlier, she busied herself with examining the area.

The small courtyard was set-up as a training arena. There were tall, wooden statues mocked up as men in armor lining one way, and on another were lines and lines of weapon racks. In the center of it all was a small tiled floor, its border sketched out by the dirt around it. It was in this little area that Alviss finally let Akazukin go.

"Bring your weapon out," he commanded. She glared at him, not quite sure what he was asking. When she didn't respond, he thrust his hand forward and glared at her. He repeated his words again, this time, colder, "Bring out that ÄRM."

Akazukin met his glare, two-fold, and slowly produced the bracelet. She hadn't put it on again, not since she had learned the truth about it. Still, she had held it close, recognizing it for what it was worth. It had saved her before, and she had no doubt that it would save her again.

"Summon it," he commanded again, his voice growing every colder. She continued to glare at him, but made no move. She didn't even know how to begin to summon it in the first place! The times she had tried to, and the time she had succeeded, were by sheer will power alone. When she wasn't in danger, she wasn't even sure how she could.

"Summon it!"

Alan stalked forward from where he had been watching the two and gentle shoved Alviss from the arena, "That's enough, boy. I know things haven't been going all that great for us, but don't take it out on her. She's just as lost as any of us."

He turned towards Akazukin and gave her a smile, "We need you to summon it. Gather up the energy you feel flowing inside you when you make contact with the ÄRM. Then, call out its name."

Akazukin frowned and nodded slightly, still not quite sure at what she was being asked to do. She held the bracelet up and tried to sense it, trying to reach it in a way she couldn't even comprehend. She suddenly felt something as a spark flowed through her veins. She quickly closed her eyes, trying to concentrate on keeping it there. The more she did, the stronger it grew.

She took a deep breath, and chanted the words, "Kaze no Ko!"

There was a bright flash of light from the bracelet, and she quickly opened her eyes, afraid she had done something wrong. Alan, who was barely visible beyond the light, was grinning though. She let her concentration slip back to the bracelet, and soon it had formed into the shape of a shurinken.

"Eh…what an interesting ÄRM," a rather bored voice commented dryly, from somewhere above. The group quickly averted their attention to the figure sitting on top of the walls around the courtyard and staring down at them. It was a boy with short and messy brown hair. His cold brown eyes gazed out over them, a thin scar ran across the left side of his face, making him looking older than he was. At the very least, this boy was no newcomer to battle.

"How the hell did you get in here!?" Alan growled, wondering how anyone could break through their defenses. The boy just blinked down at him and shrugged slightly, not really seeming to acknowledge the older man. Instead, his eyes continued to remain focused on Akazukin.

"I just walked in," the boy replied after a moment, leaning forward to get a closer look. His face remained stoic during this whole procedure, but suddenly, a small smirk crossed his lips and his brow furrowed.

"Oi, will you show me that ÄRM of yours?" he asked, directing the question towards Akazukin. Before anyone could answer though, he continued, "I've never seen anything like it…hm, wonder what it does…"

The group continued to stare up at him, unsure what to do with the boy who had penetrated the defenses of the Cross Guard.

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Translation notes:

Nee-san: a somewhat casual, but still respectful way of referring to a big sister

-chan: affectionate ending usually only given to young boys and girls (as in much younger than Hisoka)

Ah…I don't want this to end up like MAR and Omega where like every chapter is a fight scene, but you guys find that more interesting anyways, dontcha? Well, I've still got some other characters to work in, so well see how this progresses! Ah, so many character introductions..but, hey, now the plots going somewhere. Just wish I knew where it was….

**If you have a MAR OC who would like to make an appearance in this…contact me so we can chat it out! The best bet is AIM (UkyoTheOkoElf), but you can get my e-mail off of my profile and send me a PM that way, too. **


	7. AKT 6 Fushigi na Koe

MÄR ζ (Zeta)

AKT 6. 不思議な声

_Fushigi na Koe (The Mysterious Voice)_

by Sanzaki Kojika

Disclaimer: I do not in any way, shape, or form own MÄR (as much as I'd like to)…I am not Anzai Nobuyuki or Hoshino-sensei! I do however own Akazukin, Hisoka, and any other characters that are of my creation (well, no dah XD ). The time period this story falls into is the 6 year period after MAR ends and before the beginning of Omega (though I will have some Omega-related storyline bits in here. So, you have been warned…**MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS**!!

ALSO: Joe and his background are owned by Joe. Zekk is owned by Zecarius. Akili is owned by Baze. Clochette is owned by Embla. This is just my take on their stories, and their characters, with permission.

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Zekk continued to peer back at the group before him. He didn't understand why no one was responding. He shrugged slightly, taking the unsaid invite as such, and jumped into the courtyard, landing just between Akazukin and Alviss. He ignored the former and peered up into the eyes of the girl standing before him.

For a moment, no one said anything. Zekk and Akazukin had a sort of stand off, just staring blankly at one another. Alviss fidgeted behind them, worried about the safety of the clueless girl and annoyed by the fact that the boy had all but ignored him. Alan and Gaira stood off to the side, monitoring every detail they could. A person who was capable of breaking through the Cross Guard barrier was not someone to take lightly.

Zekk finally took a step back and almost smirked as he calmly remarked, "You're not too bad looking, but I want to see what that ÄRM of yours can do!"

Before anyone could say anything, Zekk pulled an ornate bracelet off his wrist and shouted out, "Scythe of Shadows!"

The bracelet started to glow and the light engulfed the field. As it cleared, the bracelet had transformed into a deadly scythe, which the boy now held, juggling it in both hands. The blade was large and there was no doubt about it that it was deadly. He charged at Akazukin without warning, and Alviss was barely able to move quick enough to intercept it with his 13 Totem Pole.

"Leave her alone!" he hissed, managed to force the boy back a couple feet. Zekk seemed impressed, but he said nothing to indicate his emotion. Instead, he just shrugged slightly.

"I just want to see that ÄRM, is all. It looks strong. I like to fight and conquer that which is strong," Zekk stated dryly as he lashed at Alviss, annoyed by the younger man's interference. Alviss met his attack easily, now that he was prepared, and sent the boy hurtling several feet into the air. Zekk landed just outside the arena with a loud thud.

Zekk quickly climbed to his feet, wiping the side of his mouth where a spot of blood had trickled out when he bit his tongue. There was a new look in his eye, one of almost lust. Alviss narrowed his eyes at the boy. Just who was this person!?

"I like to fight those who are strong," Zekk said almost robotically as he swung his scythe about his head. He charged towards Alviss again, this time hitting him with such force that he was the one who slid back. Alviss cursed silently and put his weight behind his weapon, locking it in place with Zekk's scythe. There was a harsh metallic sound as the two collided, and the two men pulled back their weapons and jumped back a couple feet to add some distance between them.

Zekk glanced beyond Alviss, taking note that the girl with the ÄRM he was so interested in was still standing in the arena. It was a rather lowly tactic for Zekk's usual repertoire of attacks, but sometimes, situations called for drastic measures. He swung his scythe at the ground and soon a trail of black flames went hurling forward. Alviss caught his trick just in time.

"Dammit!" he cursed aloud as he flung himself at Akazukin, knocking her to the ground. Together, the two tumbled across the arena and into the soft grass that surrounded it. Alviss slowly lifted himself off of the girl and glanced over his shoulder. There was a deep pain seared across his back, and he somehow doubted that horrendous odor was a good sign.

"Hey!" Akazukin shouted as she managed to recover herself enough to sit up. She knew what that odor was in an instant, and her nostrils curled against it. She gently moved to Alviss side to examine the damage. The whole of his back had been burned, tearing away his clothing and much of his skin. He winced as she touched it and slapped her hand away.

"Are you alright?" he asked, glanced over at her. She frowned at him and nodded her head slightly.

"It's you who should be worried about yourself!" she reprimanded him as she helped him to his feet. He clung to her support, not trusting himself to be able to stand against the pain. Fortunately, even though Akazukin was smaller than him, she was able to withstand his weight.

"What the hell do you want!?" Alviss shouted over at Zekk. Zekk gave him a bored look then started to move closer to them. Alan and Gaira were quick to intercept him.

"Enough," Alan glared at Zekk, showing no sign of mercy in his eyes. It was bad enough that this strange had managed to intrude onto their territory, but then he had tried to attack a helpless girl and ended up injuring Alviss. Alan didn't care what the story was; he wouldn't put up with that, not from anyone.

"Get out of here before we kill you!" Gaira snarled, bringing forth a weapon ÄRM he had been carrying on him. Zekk just stared blankly at them, no fear or remorse, not even resentment, registering in his eyes. He frowned slightly as he let his scythe revert back to its usual bracelet form.

"You people are boring," he stated as he folded his arms across his chest, like a stubborn child. Alviss shot him a glare from his perch between Akazukin's arm and body, seething with rage. He couldn't believe he had let himself get so careless!

"Get out of here!" Gaira barked again, brandishing his weapon at Zekk. Zekk just remained motionless and stared back at him. Gaira got irritated by the lack of response he was getting from the boy, so he started to charge forward.

"Stop it now, you guys! Aren't we more civilized than this!?" a sharp voice broke through the air. All five heads in the courtyard turned their gaze on the little girl who was standing on the balcony overhanging the courtyard. She frowned down at all of them, treating them as if they were children.

"Hime-sama!" her little dog servant barked about at her feet, scurrying this way and that. His little santa-like hat flopped around as he moved about. She gently grabbed his shoulder to calm him down before facing the others again.

"As long as Cross Guard is under jurisdiction of my kingdom, I will not have senseless violent. Sure, this boy has wronged us, but shouldn't we give him a chance to talk it over with us before we resort to such barbaric acts!?" the girl continued on. Akazukin blinked up at her, recognizing her as the girl who had snuck into her room before.

Alviss saw her confusion and whispered to her, "That's Snow, the princess of Levasta, and most of MÄRHeaven falls under the kingdom."

Akazukin stared up at the little girl, seeing her in a new light. She had heard stories about things like princesses and castles, but this was her first time ever coming close to one in anyway. It was like she had stepped into a land of fairytales. If she hadn't been so distraught over everything that had happened, she would have been awed by Snow-hime even more.

Silence fell over the group, as the little princess looked them down upon.

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Inga hovered just outside the window, peering inside to the best of his abilities. He was still small though, and even on the tips of his toes he couldn't quite see over the bottom of the window ledge. His tiny fingers clutched at the edge as he tried himself up into a better position.

As he managed to get his head into the window, he was able to catch a bit of the echo from the conversation going on down the hall. The words drifted to him, sounding like the whispers of spirits from the after life.

"And this little blond-haired boy…"

"So, he has the one of fire, then?"

"What of the others…"

The conversation was too broken for the little boy to make any sense of it. He scrambled through the window the rest of the way and dropped himself down inside. Those stupid guards! They never thought to guard the windows lower down! He chuckled to himself as he crept down the hall.

The tall doors loomed before him, and he pressed his ear against them, hoping to catch more of what they were saying. The doors were thick though, and now that he was so close, even the echo was nearly inaudible. All he could hear was lines of murmurs that had no coherency. He frowned and started to back away.

Suddenly, he could hear a line clearly. It was Dorothy's voice, "And, we now have a visitor!"

Before Inga could escape the hall, the door flew open. Fortunately, he had moved quickly enough to avoid getting smashed against the wall. He fell hard onto his behind, and he tried to scramble to safety. Dorothy stopped him by stepping on the edge of his robe.

"Tsk, tsk, Inga!" Dorothy waggled her finger at him. He knew he would be in deep trouble later, but for now, he was glad it was Dorothy he was dealing with. She always went a little easy on him.

"Is something wrong?" a voice from behind her floated out. She waved it off and stepped back, giving Inga a clear view into the room. He instantly spotted the elder and turned his eyes away, feeling more than a little embarrassed. He glanced up just ever so slightly to catch sight of the traveler who had arrived in Kaldea earlier. He blinked over at Joe.

"Ah, Inga-kun…" the elder frowned, spotting the little boy just below Dorothy's foot. Inga felt his face flushed and he turned his gaze entirely into the opposite direction.

"Who is he?" Joe aksed, worry creasing his brow. Dorothy waved him off again and helped Inga to his feet.

"Oh, he's just a curious brat! Still, now that he's here, we might as well let him hear it for himself, right? It will be all over Kaldea shortly enough as it is," Dorothy frowned, dragging Inga in by the collar of his robe. He didn't fight it; instead, he let the older girl do as she pleased. Dorothy stopped in a bit between Joe and the elder and let Inga come to a rest at her side.

"Right…" the elder frowned. He wasn't sure that was the right choice, but he let Dorothy have her way. For a moment, the room fell silent as the door clicked behind them. Finally though, Dorothy gave way and began to speak.

"You've heard of the clans of old that split away from Kaldea, right? We've lost many of our people during our ancestry, to things like greed and our own blind stupidity. Well, there was one clan that took a special treasure with them. It consisted of four parts," Dorothy paused, looking down at Inga. She urged him to answer.

"Er, that was the Elemental Children set, right? There were four shurinken, each one possessing a different element. Alone, they were fierce but not anything special. Together though…they were deadly," he finished for her. She grinned at him and ruffled his hair, proud that he was actually starting to pay attention in school. He had a lot of potential and she didn't want to see him waste it by burdening himself with the past and his lineage.

"Well, it is that treasure that has been stirred up lately. According to this man here, Joe of the mountains, the one that he had guarded in his care has been stolen. It seems we were careless. It has fallen into the hands of one who will corrupt its power…" she let herself trail off. Inga looked up at her with fierce eyes, understanding exactly who she meant. He took a deep breath before he could speak.

"Ünwetter, right…?" he let his head drop, not even bothering to wait for her answer. He knew he was right. It always seemed to come back to that blasted man. She set her hand on his head before she continued.

"So, we need to find this boy who has it. Apparently, he hasn't turned it in yet; the ÄRM accepted him as its master and he has been using it. One is under the care of Cross Guard, but the whereabouts of the other two are unknown. We are going to have to team up with Cross Guard to find these and stop that man from getting his hands on anymore," Dorothy finished.

Joe had been relatively silent all this time, but he frowned at Dorothy's last remark, "Wait, Cross Guard has one, too? Why doesn't Kaldea have one of them in its care?"

Dorothy sighed and shook her head. She glanced over at the elder and this time, he was the one to answer the question.

"When the treasure was taken away, we lost track of it, as we lost track of our people. As the guardians of the treasure dwindled away, they were raided and much of their magic was lost. They were able to keep only one of them, the one attuned to earth, and it was agreed that it would be sent to Cross Guard instead of our care. The Kaldean council agreed to this arrangement," the elder spoke slowly, letting the words weigh down over the room as he spoke them.

Dorothy broke in, badgering the question right back at Joe, "So, tell me, how was it that you managed to get a hold of the one attuned to fire!"

Joe frowned and shrugged slightly, "It was just something I happened about in my travels. No one gave it to me; I simply found it on my own."

Dorothy folded her arms across her chest, "And, that is the main point here. If you can find it, doesn't that mean it's possible for anyone to find one of them? As of now, we know of only the locations of two of them, and one of them is no longer under our control. Our best strategy at this time is to seek out help and go after the remaining two while trying to get the stolen one back. If you see any other ways to handle this, I implore you, do tell."

"Do you have any idea where to even began to look for these!?" Joe snapped back. It seemed like an utterly foolish plan to him.

Just then, Inga spoke up, "Don't the ÄRMs only react to those with the blood of their creators running through their veins? Aren't these the kind of magic that chose their own master…?"

Joe glared at the smug look on Dorothy's face. He just shook his head and continued to contradict them, "But, even if that's true, you don't _have_ someone from this clan, do you? So, how will that be possible?"

Dorothy chuckled slightly, "Oh, we will just have to play tag with our little friend who is holding the Hi no Ko. As of now, he's the only one we've known that has ever been able to use it. But, we are not powerful enough to handle all this alone when we have our own problems brewing."

Joe sighed and fell back, knowing that there was no way to convince them otherwise. Though the plan had some valid points, the fact that they had no concrete way of finding the others of the set bothered him. Using their enemy as a tool was no simple task. He had met the boy; he had even fought him. He knew that the boy wasn't going to be pushed over so easily.

"So, if you can get over yourself for a moment, I would like to request your help. I am heading out to Cross Guard later today, after we gather what we need. I can take you with me, using my Zephyrus Broom," Dorothy added as an after thought. Joe nodded his head.

"Alright, I'll go…but, we have to find a way to get this situation under control quickly. If this plan doesn't work, you will have to do as I say," Joe grinned over at her. She stuck her tongue back at him.

"Oh, that's no problem! 'Cause we're not going to lose! I've got a good feeling about this!" Dorothy chuckled.

The group then turned their conversation to what they would need to take with for their meeting with the Cross Guard. It had been a bit of time since they had needed anyone's help, and Kaldea was usually too proud to accept anyone's hand. This time though, they knew they were in for more than they could handle. They could use all the help they could get.

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Translation notes:

Hime-sama: formal way of saying "princess" and showing utmost respect

-hime: princess

-kun: an attachment given to younger boys showing a sort of affection

Hi no Ko: child of fire (Hisoka's shurinken)

Lookie, another chapter, and once again, another fight scene! Though, of course, this one is really abrupt. A haha! I know I haven't brought in Akali yet, but I have something a bit special planned for her. Or, if I don't do that and decide to throw her in early, she can join up in one of the next couple chapters. I'm still working out all the details, lol. I'm pretty much writing this as I go along…and, I am totally not trying to get out of writing certain words that I have to keep reformatting, lol! Ah, another chapter I'm not so happy with..sorry bout that, guys!

**If you have a MAR OC who would like to make an appearance in this…contact me so we can chat it out! The best bet is AIM (UkyoTheOkoElf), but you can get my e-mail off of my profile and send me a PM that way, too. **


	8. AKT 7 Otoko no Himitsu

MÄR ζ (Zeta)

AKT 7. 男の秘密

_Otoko no Himitsu__ (The Boy's Secret)_

by Sanzaki Kojika

Disclaimer: I do not in any way, shape, or form own MÄR (as much as I'd like to)…I am not Anzai Nobuyuki or Hoshino-sensei! I do however own Akazukin, Hisoka, and any other characters that are of my creation (well, no dah XD ). The time period this story falls into is the 6 year period after MAR ends and before the beginning of Omega (though I will have some Omega-related storyline bits in here. So, you have been warned…**MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS**!!

ALSO: Joe and his background are owned by Joe. Zekk is owned by Zecarius. Akili is owned by Baze. Clochette is owned by Embla. This is just my take on their stories, and their characters, with permission.

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There was a sharp cracking sound as the metal blade met the cracking rock of the ground beneath their feet. Clochette stumbled back, barely dodged out of the way in time of the second attack. The boy was relentless and the initial wound was starting to wear her down.

He swung at her again, and she jumped back, landing on a rock just teetering to the side. As soon as she landed on it though, the rock slipped under her weight and she slid down to the ground. She barely had enough time to scramble to her feet before Hisoka closed the distance between them.

"Why are you doing this!?" Clochette shrieked at him, bringing her gauntlet up to block the oncoming attack. The shurinken smashed into it with a clang and sent her hurtling back, but it fell to her feet without doing damage.

Hisoka stared at her without responding, instead calling his shurinken back and holding it firm in his hands. From the sidelines, Lil giggled and jumped to the ground.

"We just do what Master says, isn't that right, Hisoka-chan!" Lil said in a singsong voice, bounding around them. Clochette swung her halberd at Lil, but Hisoka moved in the way, forcing it back with sheer force beneath his tiny shurinken.

Hisoka narrowed his eyes slightly and suddenly his shurinken flared to life. Clochette screamed against the flames and was flung back, landing hard against one of the cracking castle walls. It tumbled over with her, and she found it hard to keep her Ragnarok out.

"Y-your master…!?" Clochette pulled herself free from the rubble, coughing against the explosion of dust that had been drawn with it. Lil continued to giggle and smile at her while Hisoka continued to gaze at her with his lifeless glare.

Clochette could feel her heart pounding in her ears. She hadn't been this terrified in a long time. The look in the boy's eyes resembled someone she knew far too well though. She screamed out and rage and charged towards him.

"Following someone blindly will only get you hell to pay!" she hissed as she swung Ragnarok at Hisoka. He jumped out of the way, sending the flaming shurinken back at her. She countered with Ragnarok and managed to once again knock it back.

Every time she looked into those eyes, the memories came rushing back at her. The fear she had felt, the hatred that still burned deep in her soul, the anguish that mirror from her heart in her eyes…every emotion came flowing back into her, and she tried hard to use that as her strength.

Clochette cried out as she swung her sword again and again, but her rage slowed her down and the boy was just too quick. Every time her blade landed, he jumped out of the way moments before it hit. Even with the rough and uneven rocks that cluttered the terrain below his feet, he danced about gracefully, dodging each and every attack she tried to land.

Still, she noticed there was something off with the boy. His movement was impeccable, his skills were more than a match to her own, and he was besting her at every turn. Something continued to tell her that her opinion of him wasn't right…that there was something more.

She stumbled back again, and this time, the young girl Lil moved behind her to break her fall. Lil grinned down at her.

"Tsk, tsk! Such a klutz!" Lil chided before giving Clochette a hard shove and sending her stumbling back towards Hisoka. She glanced up and time seemed to slow as she lost her footing. The boy pulled back and swung out his shurinken, letting it flare to life.

The flames left trails of light in the air, dancing about her. Her eyes darted about, trying to take in the entire scene. Even the air seemed to float about her and the sound drifted away, leaving her suspended in the blaring light.

Just as quickly as it started, the time was gone as she blinked, bearing headfirst back into reality. She screwed her eyes shut tightly as she hit the ground, knowing the flaming shurinken would be reaching her within moments.

Instead of the blades slicing through her though, she heard a sudden clink and nothing came her way. She slowly opened her eyes and looked up. The sunlight caught on her savior, making him a shadow against the dying sunlight. She knew right away who it was though.

"I-Izick!" she cried out. She was always happy to see him, but lately, it seemed like he would only appear when she was in danger. Though she knew that was his job, it was still a bit disheartening. He gave her a warm smile as he pulled her to her feet.

"My lady, we feared the worse and I came as quickly as I could. The magic readings on these children are extreme. And, what's more…that boy there has no mental stability. These are dangerous foes," Izick explained, bowing his head slightly. Clochette could barely nod her head. She glanced over at the two, frowning slightly. How could mere children be so powerful?

What struck her more though was the fact that Izick had said the boy was mentally unstable. At a glance, it was hard to tell what was going on. His eyes were lifeless and he barely spoke, instead just moving about as if he were a puppet on strings. Nothing seemed to faze him, and most of the time, his gaze seemed to be focused on really nothing in particular.

Suddenly something struck her, "Wait…tell me, was there another magic reading you got…? Like maybe a very thin one, but one that traced over the boy's?"

Izick blinked at her, "Hm, I'm not sure…you know I'm no good at reading that thing. I'm sure the council back at home has made note of something like that if there is one."

"I think the boy is under his master's spell," Clochette spoke quietly. Lil feel into a fit of giggling beside her, loudly clapping her hands together.

"Oh, oh, good job, Queenie! Ain't ya a smart one?" she mocked, bounding out of the way before Izick could hit her with the hilt of his sword. He glared at her, but she just stuck her tongue out and landed beside Hisoka, leaning up against the boy.

"Hisoka here is our Master's secret weapon, dontcha know! Apparently, he has the potential for greeeeeat things!" she threw her arms wide and danced about Hisoka. He continued to stare lifelessly at the two foes that stood before him.

"If that's the case…this could be a really hard fight. My Lady! Let me handle the boy; you go after the girl!" Izick darted forward without giving Clochette a chance to respond. He rushed towards the boy, drawing free his sword and bringing it down ontop of Hisoka. Hisoka dodged it easily, bringing up his shurinken to fight back.

Clochette turned to face the girl, grinning slightly, "Well, I guess it's you and me then!"

Lil shook her finger at Clochette and smirked, "Oh, and I'm guessing you're thinking it will be easy. Well, you know what…think again!" She darted away and called forth her ÄRM., "Fa'atiu!"

The next instant, Lil was gone. Clochette blinked, trying to figure out where the girl had disappeared to. Just as she was turning around, she received a hard blow to the face, slicing the skin on her cheek. She jumped back to see who it was, but no one was there.

"What!?" Clochette whizzed around, only to hear a small trail of giggles wrapping around her. The girl was quick, no doubt one of the effects of her ÄRM. She didn't know much about ones outside her kingdom though, so she was at a loss as to what to expect.

"The power of Fa'atiu is wind! It gives me speed by wrapping the wind around my limbs. It gives me strength by condensing when I need it to. I'm in full synch with it, too! I've had lots of practice!" Lil said as she appeared behind Clochette. This time, she punched at the air, sending a stinging sensation into the back of Clochette's head.

Clochette growled and swung around again, but the girl vanished quicker than she could react. She cursed silently to herself, jumping backwards and placing herself between a wall and the girl. This way, at least, her back wouldn't be open for attacks.

"Oooh, la-di-da! The queen thinks she's so smart!" Lil continued to tease Clochette from the safety of her wind ÄRM.

Izick wasn't fairing much better. No matter how much he pounded away at Hisoka, the boy seemed to dodge or block every attack. He was being pushed further and further back, and soon Izick, too, found himself with his back to a wall.

"This is bad, my lady! We should retreat for now!" Izick shouted over the metal clanking of his sword against Hisoka's shuriken. Now, it was the boy's turn for the relentless attacks. He stood just out of reach, throwing his shruinken at Izick over and over again. Izick's arms were starting to tire.

"Not yet! We can still win!" Clochette cried out, managing to successfully block some of Lil's attacks with her Ragnarok. Lil was started to slow down, and Clochette knew that this meant she was getting tired. Just a little more…!

There was a sudden loud snapping sound and she looked over in horror to see Izick's sword snapping beneath the blade of the Hi no Ko. The metal star pushed back the broken blades to imbed itself into Izick's abdomen. He let out a howl as he picked Hisoka up by the shoulders and chucked the boy away.

"Hisoka!" came the curt scream as Lil darted away from Clochette and rushed over to her fallen companion's side. Hisoka sat up, his expression never changing. His arm was bleeding now though, and Lil fussed over him as he gazed somewhere else.

"Izick…!" Clochette managed to find her strength and spring from the wall, rushing over to her knight. Izick forced a smile at her and tugged at the blades imbedded in him.

"C-can't get it out…" he whined, still tugging at it. She suddenly got a worried look in her eye and quickly turned back to where Lil and Hisoka were sitting. To her surprise, the boy's eyes had widened, and it almost looked as if emotion was trying to creep across them.

"No…" he quietly murmured, falling back into Lil's arms. The shurinken flickered and then vanished, taking up residence around his wrist as it usually did. He stared forward, his eyes started to focus on the blood spilling from Izick.

"Izick…" Clochette let him fall into her arms and held him close. He chuckled slightly, pushing away from her.

"My lady…let us return. Back at the castle, I can heal…" he smiled to her. She nodded her head and smiled through her tears.

"Right…!"

She slowly took his hand and there was a bright flash of light as the two of them activated Andarta to be whisked away. She risked once glance back over at the boy and girl and for the first time, she saw them for what they really were. Hisoka had started to cry now and she could see his heart flickering through the waves of hatred his curse had built.

Lil watched them go and glanced down at her crying companion. What was she supposed to do now!? They had let their target get away, and not only that, what she had been warned against had happened. Their master had kept telling her that his control wasn't complete over the boy. Any emotional distress or trauma could upset it, and he would revert back to the little boy he really was.

She sighed as she looked down at him. She felt sorry for him, really. He wasn't sure where he came from and even less sure where he was going. She had a life in the past, and had been torn from it, abandoned at every turn. All she carried now was the heavy burden of her memories and the small teddy bear that acted as her big sister.

She suddenly got an idea. She grinned as she held her teddy bear out in front of Hisoka, "Neee, look at Nee-san! Come on and smile for her! Whenever you're down, she'll cheer you up! She'll always protect you! That's what she does!"

He glanced up slightly, peering at the bear between his tears. She pushed the bear closer and made it hug him.

" Chu! Chu! Nee-san loves you!" she made the bear smack its face against his cheek. He looked up at her, his tears slowly fading. He blinked at her, thoroughly confused.

"Lil…what's a nee-san…?"

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Translation notes:

Hi no Ko: child of fire (Hisoka's shurinken)

Nee-san: a somewhat casual, but still respectful way of referring to a big sister

chu: kissing-sound

heh, it's been a long time coming and it's a shorter chapter, but it's done now! Ahah XD you guys can all thank Zecarius for this Xd during xmas break, I hope to get some others done!

**If you have a MAR OC who would like to make an appearance in this…contact me so we can chat it out! The best bet is AIM (UkyoTheOkoElf), but you can get my e-mail off of my profile and send me a PM that way, too. **


	9. AKT 8 Kibou no Hikaru

MÄR ζ (Zeta)

AKT 8. **希望の光**

_Kibou no Hikari (The Light of Hope)_

by Sanzaki Kojika

Disclaimer: I do not in any way, shape, or form own MÄR (as much as I'd like to)…I am not Anzai Nobuyuki or Hoshino-sensei! I do however own Akazukin, Hisoka, and any other characters that are of my creation (well, no dah XD ). The time period this story falls into is the 6 year period after MAR ends and before the beginning of Omega (though I will have some Omega-related storyline bits in here. So, you have been warned…**MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS**!!

ALSO: Joe and his background are owned by Joe. Zekk is owned by Zecarius. Akili is owned by Baze. Clochette is owned by Embla. This is just my take on their stories, and their characters, with permission.

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The silence that hung over the group seemed impenetrable. Zekk was seated on one side of the table with Alan hanging a bit off to the side and standing just behind him. Alviss had taken a seat close to Akazukin, acting like a private bodyguard, while she fidgeted and tried to get him to move over, all but ignoring the boy on the other side. Alviss however glared him straight in the eyes and the two had a sort of silent face-off.

"Knock it off, already!" Snow frowned as she came back into the room. She had left to change into more normal clothing than her royal dress. She much more preferred the laid back look of shorts and a long shirt. She had become so used to wearing it back in her days with Ginta and she found that it was also her way of still remaining connected to him. Of course, she had grown a bit and her clothing had worn, but it was the general fashion style she had grown so fond of.

Zekk glanced up with her with a cold stare, "So, what is it you want? To call me in here like that…what a reckless move."

Snow gave him a warm smile and took a seat beside him. She motioned to the table, "It's lunchtime! I figured you could join us for a meal!"

"That's not what I meant. What are your motives?" Zekk rolled his eyes at her. She just gave him a reassuring smile before moving to fuss over Akazukin's plate.

"My! Is that all you're going to eat!? Please, take some more!" she smiled at the older girl as she piled globs of food onto Akazukin's plate. Akazukin was a bit taken back and she just stared blankly as the overfull plate was shoved before her.

It had taken a lot to get the whole group in the same room let alone the same table, but Snow was a tactful speaker and her words held a power that no one could refuse. That was what made the little girl such a great leader. Her charisma and voice could overthrow a nation, if she so desired. But, her demeanor was one of charity and benevolence. That was what inspired people to follow her.

She had managed to coerce the four of them into one of the dining halls and she had it sent at once by the maids for them to join her in her meal. She had gone to change, leaving Alan and Ed as the guards (not that the little dog's presence mattered much), and having Alviss leave to tend to his wounds. The stubborn boy insisted on not leaving Akazukin's side until he was sure Zekk was clear out of the area, so she had gotten dragged along as well. Gaira had left beforehand to take care of a security matter.

The two of them returned prior to Snow's reappearance, dawned in new garments, and had taken up their residence opposite to Zekk. Alviss' chair was a bit further from Akazukin now than it had been, but he kept trying to edge closer, keeping an ever-watchful eye on Zekk. Snow's reappearance helped soften the tension.

She turned and frowned at Alviss, "Alviss! Stop fawning over Akazukin! You're making her nervous…! You're acting like an overprotective father! Now, shoo! Give her some space!" She motioned with her hands. He sighed and scooted his chair over.

"Relax," Snow reassured him, "I'm sure this boy won't do anything to her." She turned to Zekk and gave him a grin. There was a glint of something in her eye, and the boy shivered despite himself.

"Ne?" she cocked her head to the side. He quickly nodded his head.

"Y-yeah…" he turned away, instead taking up his attention by examining a tapestry hanging on the far wall. Snow piled up his plate as well and the group began to eat as Alan joined them on one side, and Ed on the other.

"So, things have been really crazy lately," Snow started up between mouthfuls of food, "with all those Fakes running around. I hear now that there is a boy using a flaming shurinken running about as well. He was spotted during a battle near the old castle." She suddenly frowned slightly.

Akazukin looked up from her food and frowned as well. She hadn't learned too much about her ÄRM during her time here, but she had learned enough to know that it was from a family of such weapons that could only be wield by one of the bloodline. Of course, that bloodline had been spread so thin it wouldn't be surprising to meet someone she had never known as family, but she found herself instantly sure it was Hisoka. He had attacked her before, in the silhouette of flames. She knew that fire had to be a power reserved for him, much as wind had been for her.

Snow noticed the other girl's sudden irritation. She lowered her fork and gave Akazukin a sweet smile, "Is something wrong?"

Akazukin blinked slightly and shook her head, dropping her gaze into her plate, "N-no…it's nothing…"

Snow shrugged and continued to talk and eat almost simultaneously, "It's bad enough with all this going on, but it seems those renegade bandits calling themselves 'Chess no Koma' are getting out of hand, too."

Zekk leaned back in his chair and folded his arms behind his head. Somehow, he had managed to finish shoveling the food down his throat long before anyone else. He rocked back and forth in boredom.

"Those imposters are a bunch of good for nothings…! And, they are all weak…" Zekk sighed. When he wasn't fighting, everything else seemed so boring. Though, he was a bit intrigued as to why one would let an enemy into their stronghold and treat him as a guest.

Snow nodded in agreement, "Chess was a hard enemy, and though they did a lot of wrong…the people within their ranks weren't necessarily bad. There were people like Candice, who fought for her heart, and Rolan who knew nothing better. I can't condone what they've done…but, I know some of them are trying to make better of themselves. Galian has gone back to help Nanashi rebuild Luberia. I'm sure there are others who are finding their own paths as well…" She glanced over at Zekk with a smile. He just gave her a bored look.

"Meh, who cares about all that. Those who were weak are dead and those who are strong are still alive. It's not about what you do while you live; it's all about how you die."

"No, on the contrary! I believe that it's what you do that really matters. Of course, dying is a part of that…but it's not the whole. What you do in life is just as important."

Alviss and Alan tried to hide their laughter. Snow was always so deceitful. She was baiting the boy into a trap and he was falling right into it, despite his stone-like attitude. He wouldn't realize it until it was too late.

Just as Snow was about to continue though, a sudden surge of magic was felt all around the room. She stood up and bowed her head to Zekk, "Well, I'm sorry…but it appears we have visitors. Ed, won't you stay and keep him company? I think Cross Guard should be here for this as well…I'll send Gaira back though. Akazukin, you come, too. These people are important for you to meet…"

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Dorothy shifted onto her other hip, impatient about the wait. Though they had arrived nearly ten minutes ago, she had still yet to see Snow or a member of Cross Guard, save for the guards that had greeted them. She glanced over at Joe who had drifted off in boredom.

"Sheesh! Can't you at least pretend to be interested?" Dorothy rolled her eyes at him. He just grinned over at her and shrugged.

"Hey, you're just as bored as I am. All we are doing is waiting…that little brat is gonna get too far ahead at this rate…" Joe sighed and folded his arms behind his head. Dorothy just shook her head and turned away.

The echo of footsteps reverberated off the walls of the hall, and soon the door was pushed open to admit the small group. Snow was in the lead, followed by Alan and Akazukin, and Alviss brought up the rear.

"Sorry to keep you waiting! We had another matter to deal with," Snow gave Dorothy a friendly smile. The two took each other's hand in greetings, but they said little else to each other before Snow stepped over to greet Joe.

"This is Joe. He came to Kaldea to alert us about the Hi no Ko being taken. It was a young boy who did so, but it seems he was not himself," Dorothy explained as Snow stepped back. The younger girl nodded her head and motioned over to the others.

"From Cross Guard, Alan and Alviss. This girl, Akazukin, was discovered by Alviss when she activated Kaze no Ko. We brought her here to protect her and help train her as well. It seems she had no training whatsoever in the art of magic, though her potential is great," Snow flashed a small smile over her shoulder at Akazukin. The older girl blinked back at her.

Dorothy clapped her hands together and grinned, "Kaze no Ko!? So, that means you guys found a user then! That's great! It's good to know at least something is going right! That's one of the four safe, and one of them taken."

Snow nodded slightly and frowned, "True, but the other two have me worried. We need to get them found as soon as possible."

"Don't worry; we've already got our best people on it," Dorothy winked at her. Snow smiled, but she wasn't sure how reassured she really felt. Kaldea was good at finding ÄRMs, but they had managed to let these two slip by.

"Dorothy," Alviss spoke as he stepped forward, "we are going to send some of our people from Cross Guard out as well. It's not that we don't trust you, but we may need more eyes. Let us cooperate in this."

Dorothy nodded her head slightly, "I understand. We'll be counting on you guys then. The more people we have on this, the better. Of course, it helps that we have this girl now, too."

Alan laughed and ruffled Akazukin's head, nearly knocking off her hood. She clung to it and straightened it out. Alan grinned down at her, "You should be able to help us find these ÄRMs. I'm sorry to hafta put you through all this, but you're our only help."

Akazukin cocked an eyebrow and knocked his hand away, "I don't really understand it, but I know something is wrong. And, if by doing this I might be able to save him…I'll do anything to achieve that. I'll lend what little power I have."

Dorothy crossed the room and stopped to stand face-to-face with Akazukin. She was only slightly taller, so the two of them were almost eye-to-eye. The two girls stared at each other as if sizing one another up. Dorothy slowly put her hand out. Akazukin hesitated before taking it.

"Relax," Dorothy gave her a reassuring smile, "it's not all as hard as it seems. No matter what happens, you've got all of us behind you. Al and Alan will take good care of you."

Akazukin gave her a slight smile in return, "I have no doubt of the power these people possess. Still, this whole thing is much more troublesome than I would have expected."

Snow came up to her side and gave her a small hug. Akazukin blinked down at the little girl and Snow took a step back, grinning.

"We are all in this together, you know!" She clapped her hands and moved to motion for Joe to come closer. She made her way across the floor and to the door they had initially entered through. She gave it a hard shove and propped it open.

"Now then, shall we get this meeting of ours started for real? I have the conference room all set up to go. Gaira won't be joining us as he has to take care of our guest, but…" Snow suddenly trailed off when she found herself staring at Zekk. The boy had his arms behind his head and gave her a bored look.

"Eh, there are others of those ÄRMs, too, huh? Maybe I should go and get one. They seem like they will be handy…" Zekk commented dryly. Alviss shot him a glare and stood protectively in front of Akazukin. Zekk just ignored the two of them.

"Please, I think it's best if you were to stay out of this," Snow gave him a pleading look. He rolled his eyes at her.

"I do what I want. Listening to others is not something I make a habit of. But, don't worry; I'll only take one. And, I won't use it against you. That's my promise, and it's up to you to decide how much you should trust me," Zekk said with a smug look on his face. Alviss wanted to jump forward and bash his face in. He knew it wasn't a good idea though, and his control was better than that. Akazukin put her hand on his arm as if worried he would go after the boy.

Alviss glanced back at Akazukin and relaxed slightly. He sighed and shook his head, whispering, "No, I won't do anything."

Snow frowned slightly, "That's really not the problem here." She was trying to convince Zekk out of the idea, but it seemed futile. The boy only saw the potential to grow stronger, and he wanted nothing more than to take it.

"Well, I'm gonna go track it down then. Maybe, I'll see you guys later…" Zekk nonchalantly walked away and made a casual wave with his hand. He moved to the far window of the hall and smashed the glass before jumping out.

Dorothy moved over to Snow and looked down at the little girl, "Who was that? Should we be worried? His magic power wasn't something to be taken lightly…" She frowned slightly.

Snow looked up at her and laughed slightly, waving her hands about, "N-no! I think we'll be okay. He was what had held us earlier though. He somehow managed to break through our barrier, but it seems all he wanted to do is fight strong people.

"Now then, let's try to work something else…we have a lot to do…"

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Translation notes:

Hi no Ko: child of fire (Hisoka's shurinken)

Kaze no Ko: child of wind (Akazukin's shurinken)

I apologize for another long break, but I actually had some of this done before my father decided to try and install a new OS when our computer didn't have enough room and instead crashed our harddrive. Now, just by chance, my files are still okay on a back-up drive, but my computer isn't letting me have it on for very long at a time. And, since I forgot where I was going anyways, I just started over. Hopefully, it will still work out…

**If you have a MAR OC who would like to make an appearance in this…contact me so we can chat it out! The best bet is AIM (UkyoTheOkoElf), but you can get my e-mail off of my profile and send me a PM that way, too.**


	10. AKT 9 Suteki na Kaitou

MÄR ζ (Zeta)

AKT 9. **素敵な怪盗**

_Suteki na Kaitou (The Amazing Phantom Thief)_

by Sanzaki Kojika

Disclaimer: I do not in any way, shape, or form own MÄR (as much as I'd like to)…I am not Anzai Nobuyuki or Hoshino-sensei! I do however own Akazukin, Hisoka, and any other characters that are of my creation (well, no dah XD ). The time period this story falls into is the 6 year period after MAR ends and before the beginning of Omega (though I will have some Omega-related storyline bits in here. So, you have been warned…**MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS**!!

ALSO: Joe and his background are owned by Joe. Zekk is owned by Zecarius. Akili is owned by Baze. Clochette is owned by Embla. This is just my take on their stories, and their characters, with permission.

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The dark shadows crept over the wooden tiers and pillars, giving the place an overall illusion of darkness. The splashes of blood that had stained and broken the structures had been mostly washed away, but the power still hung in the air like a haunting specter. Broken beams had been cut away and the moonlight shone through like a beacon.

The dark haired man glanced up at the moonlight and stared, swept away in its beauty. So much had happened in such a short time. He never would have expected to find himself here, helping clear out the rubble that someone like him had caused. It was amazing how much of it had been already revitalized, long before his return. Still, so much had changed since the time he had left.

"Galian, is somethin' wrong?" a familiar voice with a heavy accent broke through his thoughts. Galian turned back and grinned at the newcomer.

"Nah, just thinking stupid thoughts. This still seems to easy, Nanash, but I'm really glad to be home," Galian chuckled slightly. He bent down to move a rather large beam that was still obstructing the walkway. Nanashi grabbed the other end, and together the two of them hoisted it off the ground and carried it outside to the scattered pile of the wood they had already moved.

"Yo!" the guardian of the wood greeted. She sat situated high up on a broken beam, kicking her legs about like the young child she was. She peered down at Nanashi and Galian through the moonlight, her eyes catching just enough of its glow to shimmer.

"Hah, are you just sitting around up there!? I thought I told ya to go through and find out what of this is still usable!" Nanashi chided her, but his voice was still gentle. She gave him a playful grin and jumped down from her perch.

"But it's so boring!" she whined, "And besides, it's already so late. I can barely see a thing."

"Liar! It's still pretty bright out here! That moon sure is shining tonight!" Nanashi heckled her. She just stuck her tongue out.

"I think you're just jealous that you can't take a break yet. You guys are strong, so you're stuck moving things. I can't do that," she shrugged slightly. As the two dropped the beam before her, she gave it a gentle kick. She moved around to examine it, nodding to herself all the while.

"I'd rather be workin' than restin'," Galian commented after a moment. Nanashi chuckled and grinned, slapping his partner hard on the back.

"I agree!" he snorted. He moved to sort some of the wood into better piles while Galian stood watching him. The girl came up beside Galian and peered up at him with wide eyes.

"Galian, is something wrong?" she cocked her head to the side. He flashed her a grin and shook his head. He reached down and ruffled her hair.

"Nay, Akili. Everythin's just dandy!" he chuckled. He moved away from her and went to help Nanashi.

The young girl, Akili, stood for a moment just watching them. The only movement was the rise and fall of her chest as she breathed and her eyes as she blinked. She had been found just a few days after the War Games had ended and Nanashi and Galian had rejoined forces to fix their old home. In fact, she had suddenly appeared the day after Galian had rejoined the Luberia Thief Guild.

Still, she had become a member just the same. Where she had come from was a bit of a mystery, but it was clear that she had felt the atrocity of the War Games as hard as anyone else. The fact that she had come out so innocent and full of hope despite all this was something the members of Luberia found reassuring. She had helped bring light back to Luberia, along with the reappearance of the two men who may have well have been brothers. These three had become the new strength in which this small community was able to rebuild itself.

After a moment longer, Akili took off after the two of them. The three of them headed back into the rubble of the once proud stronghold. She trailed behind them, skipping a bit, much like the child she still was.

Nanashi suddenly stopped shortly, causing Galian to run into him. Akili hung back, staring forward at the figure before them. She crouched back into the shadows, seeking solace in their darkness and hiding herself from the man's eyes.

"Oy, what is it?" Nanashi blinked at the man who had suddenly approached them. He had been one of the people assigned to stand guard tonight. With everything that had happened, Luberia had learned the hard way it was never too early to be on guard.

The guard grinned, "Sorry, I know I wasn't supposed to leave me post, but I got somethin' that was supposed to go directly to ya!" The guard thrust forth an envelope. Nanashi cocked an eyebrow and took it.

As he glanced down and saw the seal, a grin spread across his face, "Aaaah! It's from Snow-chan! Haven't seen that little cutie in a while!" Nanashi beamed as he ripped the envelope open.

As he scanned the contents, Galian and the guard both tried to read it over his shoulder, but he turned and moved it, continually hiding it from their sight. After he read it, he grinned and passed it over to Galian.

"What is it?" Akili came forward, a little braver know that she had seen who the figure was. She knew most of the people within Luberia, and though it had taken a while, she no longer feared any of them. Nanashi patted her on the head.

"Orders from my Dorothy-chan! We're all supposed to help out with this Fake problem that's goin' on. Even Luberia got an assignment! Ha ha! We are goin' on a mission…well, when I say we, I mean just me…" Nanashi started to ramble on. Galian just sighed and lightly shoved his fist into Nanashi's head.

"So, ya gotta go then? Ya gonna take anyone with ya? It may seem easy, but I'm worried…" Galian frowned slightly. Nanashi chuckled and hit Galian hard in the back.

"Don't worry so much! I know what I'm doin'! 'Sides, I won't be alone! I'm gonna meet up with some others they're sendin' out. It sounds like that Al-chan will be there, too!" Nanashi grinned. Galian nodded slightly.

"Ne," Akili grabbed onto Nanashi's sleeve. He glanced down at her and she continued to speak, "Can I come with?"

Nanashi laughed and gently brushed her away, "Nah, ya couldn't handle it! 'Sides, I need ya here with Galian! Someone's gotta get this place back in order! I promise I'll take ya out and show ya around when you're older!"

Akili frowned and stepped back, knowing that arguing when nowhere with Nanashi. She stayed quiet and just watched as Galian, the guard, and Nanashi went on to talk about things that were far beyond her.

It was nearly sunrise when Nanashi finally bid them farewell and set off, a bag on his back and his ÄRM all in order, to meet up at the location that Dorothy had told him to meet at. He started out at a run, like a fanboy about to meet his idol, and soon he was out of sight.

When Akili was sure the others weren't paying attention, she started out after him.

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Clochette had remained silent throughout the whole meeting. She had listened to the council members drone on, talking about things that were far from her mind and far from her heart. Right now, all she could think about was their waning hope as their only possible ally seemed to vanish. Where could they turn now?

"Your highness…." Izick's voice brought through her thought. She glanced up at him and gave him a weak smile.

"Too much has happened. We still have yet to have any news on Levasta, and the news we have of these Fakes running around, even if it's speculation, is not positive. We are still too weak here on our own…" Clochette shook her head and dropped it into her hands. She peered outside the window just beyond her desk and let out a sigh. Why was it all bad things seemed to happen at once.

"Well, I believe what you said of that boy were correct. Bearing that in mind, there's no doubt that he is controlled by the one who is responsible for the Fakes. Did you know that he is well known in some kingdoms? He has been delivering the Fakes himself," Izick took a seat next to her. She blinked over at him.

"I thought they said they found nothing on him!" she let her jaw drop. He smiled at her and chuckled slightly.

"True, they didn't. Not by name. But, based on reports they had managed to gather, it's pretty safe to assume that he is one of them, same with the girl who had accompanied him. He stands out the most though…with his dead eyes. There is only one boy like that talked about, but he shows up in several reports…" Izick spread out some papers on the table and joined them together to form a map. He pointed down at it.

"Tell me…what do you see?" he glanced up at her.

She stared down at the map, scrutinizing it for details. Each of the people they had declared as part of the Fake Creation Group had been marked in their own separate color. The boy had been marked in red, and the girl was purple. Along with those two colors, there were a variety of others-blue, yellow, green, etc-that marked up the map. Nothing really stood out to her.

"I don't get it…" she started to speak when she finally caught the pattern. She blinked and pointed to a spot on the map.

"Hey," she glanced up at Izick, "why is the red, the boy, only within a range of this area. All of the others are much more scattered."

He just grinned at her and nodded, "I think you are smart enough to figure this out for yourself. So, your highness, use your pretty head a bit."

Clochette blushed slightly, feeling a bit embarrassed at the way he had spoken to her. He always seemed to know so much more than her, but he would never outright tell her. He always led her to the solution, but she had to make sense of it on her own.

She sighed and turned back to the window, "W-well, if I was to guess…I'd say because the range of the magic spell he's under. Even the strongest magic user will have a range in which their spells can reach, especially if they are using other spells at the same time. That is to say then, somewhere within this area, most likely the center, is where the so-called 'master' resides."

Izick nodded and clapped his hands, "Very good! Now then, didn't that meeting prove useful after all? We at least managed to get this much information."

Clochette shrugged slightly, "Perhaps, but it's still not enough. With Levasta in the ruin it's in…we are on our own. Just knowing where the enemy is doesn't mean we have the strength to overcome him."

A light rapping on the door caused them to both sound silent. Clochette straightened herself up and brushed her brown hair back over her shoulder. She cleared her throat, "Come in."

The door creaked open and one of the guards came in, bearing forth a small envelope in one hand and his spear in the other. He bowed his head and held the envelope out to her. She snatched it up and looked down at it.

"This is…!" she gasped when she saw the seal. It was the emblem of Levasta, but how could that be!? She had seen firsthand the condition of the castle…

"This message just came now from the royal kingdom of Levasta. It seems it was brought here in utmost urgency," the guard explained.

Clochette slowly rose to her feet and clutched the letter to her chest. She held back her tears and slowly peeled back the envelope, scanning the contents within. Suddenly, it seemed that all things were falling into place.

Maybe there was still hope in this world after all.

She turned on her heels and motioned for Izick, "Quick, we must ready for departure! We shall meet with Levasta, the Cross Guard, and Kaldea at their new base!"

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Translation notes:

-chan: an informal ending usually used with younger children or females to show affection

Well, I finally got Akili in here! I was saving her initially to stick in later, but this seemed like a good place to put her in, too. Besides, what I want her to do later need her to be introduced and developed a bit, anyways! There's only one last OC to add who has been added by someone else, but she won't be in for a couple more chapters at least. Thanks for being patient with me, like always!

**If you have a MAR OC who would like to make an appearance in this…contact me so we can chat it out! The best bet is AIM (UkyoTheOkoElf) or MSN (SanzakiKojika (at) yahoo), but you can get my e-mail off of my profile and send me a PM that way, too.**


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